Australian here. 10 years ago my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumour. She had neurosurgery, and stayed in hospital for a week to recover (2 nights in ICU, 5 nights on the ward) The full cost of the surgery was over $250k. Wanna know what my parent paid under our Medicare system???? $785, which was $157 per night for her 5 nights on the ward. That’s it. So every time I get a payslip and I look at the money I’ve lost to tax, I think about my mother’s tumour free brain, and the fact that my parents didn’t have to sell their house, and I think “that’s money well spent”.
jamie kelly the problem is that Medicare and social welfare is keep our taxes high. Once you earn over $90k your paying 50% tax. People complain about the 1% getting richer, it’s because the upper middle class are kept as a middle class to pay for the lower class. The taxes should be lower and there should be some out of pocket expenses when seeing doctors or going to school, people spend their own money more carefully than when it’s “free”.
@@AussieZeKieL I don't disagree with the sentiment in your comment. Apart from the school part (only if you are including primary and high school as needing out of pocket costs). I think your 50% is exaggeration I earned 130k and played 40k in tax last year
jamie kelly well I said after $90k your paying 50% tax. 38% income tax. 2% Medicare Levi. 10% GST on purchases. I’m sure your familiar with the tax brackets which is why if you earn $105k you’ll only pay about $27k tax (approximately).
Agreed. Me and my family have gone to the doctors hundreds of times over the years, especially with my mum and sister having long term illnesses. The only costs we’ve paid are for the actual medication.
Another Australian here. Agree that this isn't a good example or explain well how the Australian system works in the majority of cases. Having a persistent chronic condition which isn't always life threatening (as explained by the American lady) is going to potentially result in sub-optimal care under Medicare. But, as others have said, for anything acute like a heart attack or major surgery, Medicare will shine in comparison to the US system as all of that treatment will generally be covered with minimal out-of-pocket costs (if any). For less life threatening or preventative issues you can have waitlist problems etc as mentioned by the Australian lady and would probably benefit from private health insurance. But I think the main benefit of Medicare is that it removes that feeling of hopelessness that the American describes in this video - something which I was very sad to hear her say.
Australian here. We LOVE our Medicare system. Universal healthcare for all. This video didn’t mention our Pharmacuetical Benefits Scheme; where the government covers prescription drugs.
Truth! I pay $5-10 for an asthma inhaler here in Australia, it cost me nearly $50 in the USA! I was just gobsmacked! What if I didn’t have $50 on me? Just die from an asthma attack?
N why? Do you think that countries that have $5 medications aren’t regulated? And they are also capitalist, just more socialist than the USA. So if you blame big pharma, insurance companies, and government regulation who all play a hand in economics and JUST WANT TO MAKE MONEY, that is Capitalism and in USA it’s to the extreme.
@N why? the PBS is still capitalism just the consumer pays $5 say for the $50 medication and the government pays the other $45 and some medications are added to the scheme every few years and some are removed as newer better medications are found
This video was very poorly done. Things it did not cover: - in an emergency, ambulance is free, ED is free, emergency procedure including major surgery is free. - While many Australians choose to have private health insurance, you DO NOT need it. Even elective surgeries can be done in the public system although wait times can be long. - Unlike the video suggested Optical and Dental can be done in the public system, and even when not bulk-billed (no gap) it is still offset by Medicare. - The Phamaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) is a scheme in which the government heavily offsets the cost of prescription medication. From everyday drugs like ventolin for asthmatics to obscure medications for rare conditions, chemotherapy drugs, morphine, you name it it’s probably covered. And these drugs will be affordable for almost everyone even if they are on a pension. - Mental health is also provided for. A mental health care plan will mean a person is entitled to 10 sessions with a psychologist and many will not charge more than what is covered by Medicare. A person can receive as many as the need, they just need to see a doctor again for a new plan. - Private health insurance in Australia is heavily regulated to avoid people with chronic conditions discriminated against, although the system hasn’t worked perfectly. - Many other things like immunisations, pathology, medical imaging, allied health (physiotherapy, dieticians, occupational therapy, speech pathology, rehabilitation etc.) are all covered to different degrees by Medicare. More than anything else this video didn’t really communicate that in this country no matter what happens if you need medical care, you will get it. Emergencies, cancer, chronic disease doesn’t matter. Yes private health insurance might mean you get to chose your surgeon and for elective surgeries may be performed sooner. But no one “needs” to have it. Even if you do want it, it will cost you less than in the US. And if you have a chronic condition you won’t be bankrupted.
Yeah it’s good for genuine emergency but anything below that it’s dreadful. I’ve had a broken nose completely unable to breathe, 4 weeks wait for surgery in public system and would’ve been in a hospital 2.5 hours away 2 days wait in private in my town. Dislocated shoulder, originally told no problem, sling for six weeks and check it again in public, rushed in for next day surgery because of the risk of further damage in the private system. Broken jaw, three week wait in public, operated on in 3 days in private. My dad needed a knee replacement he hobbled around for 14 months before he could get in to a public hospital. That’s why I have private insurance, public is ridiculously inefficient for anything under life threatening.
John Walker for the amount of funding the public system is receiving it operates extremely efficiently. The private sector is funded through the roof both by our government and their own profits. For the amount of funding the private sector receives they operate at a very inefficient level.
I had a heart attack when I was 25 and nothing out of pocket here in Australia, I even had to see specialist due to paralyzed vocal chords from the heart attack, and the hospital paid the private doctors fees for me. Two years later I needed to get a pacemaker due to damage from the heart attack, this time I had private heath and thought I would use it, two weeks later I received a bill... I promptly canceled my private health and just created my own fund to pay that money into. I have been involved in designing a few private hospitals over the years and it's pretty clear there business model is money over health, I have even had private doctors tell me the hire 1 good lead Doc and 10 crap ones as it saves money for the organization. I have had public doctors tell me they would refuse to do go private as it would limit the amount of people they could help.
Another Australian here: this video does not give justice to the true benefit of our Medicare. My experience 3 serious and long surgeries and the cost was $0. Beat that.
Yep same......5 weeks in hospital, including a lengthy spell in ICU, 12 hours of open heart surgery cost $0......and that is just one of the 20 surgeries Ive had through our public system.
Shane Mesch well I’m certainly not grateful that I was born in the United States as opposed to Australia or any of the various European countries that feature universal healthcare and free college education. For that chance of birth I get to be a debt slave for possibly my entire adult life. But yes, I am grateful that I wasn’t born in El Salvador or any other country that has been impoverished and exploited by colonialism.
As an Australian, I feel incredibly grateful that I can seek medical care in any situation without financial costs even being a factor. Everyone should have the right to medical care without having to think twice about it.
@WeeStrom CO Guy to buy food, to buy clothes, to buy goods and services, to travel, to invest in new businesses and technology. All sectors of the economy other than developers and landlords could improve if housing was more accessible, affordable and secure allowing consumers to have more spending money and investment confidence
WeeStrom CO Guy what’s the incentive for the corporations to work hard when they are receiving hand outs left and right from socialist policies under our current democratic president?
WeeStrom CO Guy wait you think Trump is republican? He just forgave 25,000 student loans, bailed out farmers and endorsed red flag laws lol. Sounds like something a Democrat would do since he used to be one 😉
I paid $17AUD for my meds and that was expensive. At discount chemists I could get it down to $5AUD. That same medication costs $250USD. That's insane. No wonder people struggle so much with mental health.
The U.S has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and some of the worst healthcare outcomes in the developed world. Things have got to change.
as a 70yo old age pensioner out here in australia, i love our medicare for all system. i recently had a heart attack home here in cairns, was taken by ambulance to the local cairns hospital and was then flown by the royal flying doctor service, free of charge to townsville. i spent 2 weeks in hospital down there, a week pre op and a week post op. i had my aortic valve replaced and a double bypass. the whole affair cost me nothing. also i would point out that any monthly medications i need, currently plenty are charged at just $5.50 per month each. so i have absolutely no complaints at all about our health system and am amazed that america continually holds out for private health insurance.
It's not the American people who hold out for private health insurance: it's the politicians, who are almost all bought by either health insurance or drug corporations, or both. America is 100% corrupt.
In the states, elderly 65+ all are covered by medicare(medicaid is the service for needy families). They all would receive the same treatment you explained. There are exceptions to getting covered, and being younger than 65, things like being on disability, having a specific illness, etc.
So I had my daughter here in Australia- I paid nothing. My brother in the USA paid 20k. I’d MUCH rather pay higher taxes and never have to worry about medical and high pharmaceutical cost. I’ve never gotten the supplemental insurance as I don’t agree with weakening the system.
@@mra6308 The States and Local Goverments have No Direct or Indirect Taxation hear in OZ, though there are some Duties, Fees and Charges levied for some Government Services, though you can go years, decades or even a lifetime without having to pay them.
Just looked up tax rate. www.ato.gov.au/Rates/Individual-income-tax-rates/ To summarize $37,001 - 90,000 you pay $3,572 and 32.5% for $ after 37,000. So let's say you make $50,000 that would be $7,797 or a about 16%. Add in GST (10% on most goods and services) you looking at total tax rate of say 25%
Rea Kariz my mom was diagnosed with cancer and we didn’t know how to pay for her treatment...so we were seriously thinking of putting our house for sale and moving to Mexico after she got better because we would not be able to afford to rent anywhere else.
Nobody has to sell their house for a medical bill in America either!That's a stupid comment!Furthermore,If you can't afford healthcare,you can't afford a house!
Conservatives in the USA .. *think we Australians are SOCIALIST* .. national health care was first introduced in 1975... Conservative governments in Australia have tried on numerous occasions.. to go down the USA path. *Luckily we are also better educated*
Video should be titled: How Medicare for all works in a nation with less people than the US state of California but with the land mass and wealth of the entire nation of the US.
American system , worse outcomes for twice the money .Australian system by no means perfect , better results for half the funds .So transferring to a public , private type arrangement as in Australia would obviously be a better way to go in the states . If not why not and what am i missing .
@@yugiohpokemon5285 People live longer in places with socialized healthcare like Great Britain. The big difference is that the US just pays a lot more for inferior care.
@@Matt-fl8uy their only ahead by like 3 years and has little to do with healthcare as the reason. 99 percemt of old people have some sort of medicaid or medicare.
They should've asked, how many people in Australia declare bankruptcy due to medical bills. I'm guessing the number is somewhere close to zero. I'm Canadian. I've never had to pay for any primary medical care, and this includes two surgeries. I have to pay for medication, but that's where my private insurance - through work - comes in. They pay the majority of it. If your doctor thinks you might have cancer, they're not going to make you wait - they're going to send you for tests. Plus, we do preventative screenings. Two of my uncles died of cancer - smoking related, but still, my mother's doctor insists she go for cancer screening every... I think 2 years, even though their cancer were most likely due to their smoking and my mother doesn't smoke. The main thing they should ask the candidates about universal health care is... Spain was the last 'first world' country to get Universal Healthcare, back in 1986. All the others got their coverage before then. So that's at the very least thirty three years. If universal healthcare is so bad, why has NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THESE COUNTRIES IN THE LAST 33 YEARS AT LEAST, GONE BACK TO A PRIMARILY PRIVATE SYSTEM? NOT. ONE. Are our system's perfect? No. But they're a sh*t-ton better than whatever is happening in the US. Stop letting those insurance companies manipulate you!
MavenCree “But taxes are wage theft and it’s not free as the taxpayers are paying for it!” This is what the neoliberals in the US have convinced the lower classes to believe.
There is another really good part of the Australian Health System (Medicare) called the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). In its most basic form, the PBS provides subsidised medicines to everyone who needs them, simply getting a prescription for the medicine from either a doctor or in some cases a specialist allows you to purchase the medicine, so there is no additional barrier to entry. The list is reviewed every month and new medicines are added all the time. We literally have some life-changing/saving medicines that would cost people tens of thousands of dollars a year in the US, that are available in Australia for a few dollars a month.
This video didn’t mentioned the PBS scheme, which covers those costy cancer drugs all at 39.40 dollars, if you under pension, those will just cost you 6.8 dollars. We pay Medicare levy abt 2% of our income, near 20% tax income contribute to the medical system here. We cannot say oz system is perfect, but its relatively efficient and fair.
One of my step daughters takes medication to stay alive. She has a serious heart problem. I got this months box this afternoon from the Pharmacy. Cost of the box of tablets $4,100. How much did I pay..........$9.00 Australian., which is about $5.00 US. That's NINE DOLLARS for a FOUR THOUSAND DOLLAR box of tablets. If Americans call that socialism, they are more ignorant than even I thought.
Australian here, we had our son in the public system. Was there for 5 days, they wanted to run some tests etc. After all good and done we just walked out ... No paperwork, no bill, didn't need to do talk to anyone or do anything. Was surreal and awesome. Being free in public removes so much red tape.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
Another Aussie here. Four years ago, my elderly mother fell and broke her hips. Free ambulance trip to the ER. Checked out by the doctors. Yup, her hip was broken. Scheduled for surgery 24 hours later. Free. Spent a week in recovery than a further six weeks in rehab. Free. I hate to think how much all this would cost in America. We are so fortunate here in Australia.
I had a stroke, was taken to Goulburn hospital, didn't have an MRI. Was taken to Canberra hospital but had no beds. Redirected to Calvary hospital where the noravirus had broken out. I also got infected. Rehab wasn't available. They overdosed me on medication. Orderlies didn't speak English. They left people who couldn't communicate after a stroke in soiled nappies all day despite the stink. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi.
As an Australian, this video missed a lot of stuff. If also like to see how many Australians would like to switch to the American system - 0%, how many Americans would like the Australian system - most would know how it work, but once they did, I’d say 100%.
They just need to heavily regulate the insurance companies and I bet you the outcomes would be far superior to the rest of the world. I'm from a country where we don't have public health care just private insurance companies that are heavily regulated and health care cost to an individual is insanely low and outcomes are great.
60% of people in the US are happy with their private healthcare, but go ahead and spread the far left rhetoric. Yes Medicare for all is far left in US, since Medicare for 65 and over is the LARGEST single payer, deemed to run out of money by 2035, so I will keep my private insurance, thanks. Don't need the government to mess this up as well.
@@chrismitchell4010 when people speak of this issue it is the out of pocket costs that we are focusing on when an incident occurs; we cannot time this. Yes a publicly funded system is paid for by tax payers obviously. Americans pay on average twice as much as Australians yet receive about half the care. This is determined by various sources.
@@dennisf1020 The issue im referring to is obvious misrepresentation of our health system like the above "zero dollars". The levy is also very much "out of pocket" as you put it.
The German system is insurance based, not tax based. There are many insurances, you have to choose one (obligatory), at least AOK has to take you, no matter what diseases you have. Children are insured with at least one of their parents. Jobless people also have health insurance. You cannot really be uninsured. I like that very much, it really gives you ease of mind and prevents you from being one disease away from personal bankruptcy.
Mirza, by having UHC, and not discriminating, the cost goes down for everyone. The more people you have paying into the system, healthy or not, means that your money goes further.
As an Aussie, Id rather pay 30% tax than see someone be hit with a 100K bill any day (I just think that 100K bill could have been my bill growing up). To think otherwise would be selfish. P.S. this video didnt really explain the medicare system very well. Just saying.
I think for most of us this video explained things well enough. Of course with life not being perfect there is going to be gaps. Then again what do I know, I’m just an average Joe.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
Co-pay is everywhere in Australia which is a bummer. BUT all surgeries that arent cosmetic are completely free. You just have to wait a bit if it's not immediately necessary. But private care you can get in immediately. Also my family has ehler-danlos aswell. The system is really good but the liberal government. Keeps privatizing new hospitals for short term cash. Which is starting to ruin the system.
@@tirkentube the Australian Liberals are our conservative party. Along with the nationals (the regional conservatives) Liberals, in the classical sense
@@RumSoviet Only in Canada and the US the term ''liberal'' is used that way. For the rest of the world there isn't such thing as ''classical liberals'' there are liberals, period.
@@tirkentube There are two main parties in Australia the 'Liberal' party which is like the American Republican party, and the 'Labor' party, which is like the American Republican party. There is no major small l liberal party.
@@tirkentube american libs don't want 100% nationalized and public healthcare. they're more than happy to allow private options to exist, same as in AUS and the UK.
“Both the American and Australian systems have their problems” almost NO ONE in Australia thinks we have a problem. And if better research was done you would understand why.
To some extent I agree that both countries have some problems, but Medicare problems almost to being at times a bit inconvenient, or having a long wait time for an elective surgery. Medicare isn't perfect, but it sure as he'll hasn't bankrupted anyone for a stubbed toe. No one in Aus has to chose between their own health and food on the table for their children. To say both systems have problems while implying they have equal problems is nothing short of a bald faced lie. Yes, Medicare isn't perfect, but in comparison to American healthcare it sure looks that way!
Medicare for all works for people who are older with health issues or have chronic health issues, notice every single comment praising shows someone who was a substantial consumer. How is this a fair review???
I praise Medicare. I think it's great and I am so grateful to have it available, however I have used it for a couple of minor doctors visits, and one case of appendicitis when I was 13. I've never been grateful for it in a financial sense. It hasn't saved me from destitution, I've got no chronic need to rely on it but simply knowing it is there gives me peace of mind. If I get in a terrible car accident tomorrow, or get diagnosed with a chronic disease, or simply slip in the kitchen and cut my finger badly, my only worry will be getting better. I don't have to worry about hundreds of thousands of dollars and everything that comes with that. I know I pay in more than I hopefully will ever need to use but I'm extremely grateful that I have the option should I need it. It's like car insurance. Mostly I pay money into a never ending hole, but I'm still much happier driving knowing that financial ruin isn't one of the potential consequences of a bit of oil on the road.
@@enigma194 I'm 32 and have no serious health issues. I've had a few injuries playing sport and used some mental health treatment, but that's about it. It's nice to know that our system is so good if something happens to me. Otherwise I'm perfectly happy paying taxes to know that every citizen in this country has access to good healthcare. Not everyone is as fortunate as me and I consider healthcare a human right. Today I'm the one contributing but who knows what might happen down the track. We should pride ourselves on the fact we take care of those less fortunate.
American who is now also Australian citizen living in Sydney; I won’t even consider moving back to America because of the healthcare system. I cannot fathom going back to having my health insurance tied to my job.
I'm Australian, in the last 20 years my mum's been in the ICU 6+ times some visits lasted weeks, then they was the times on wards (dozens of them), the emergency visits, the ambulence rides, the months at a time spent in rehabilitation doing physio and the multiple spinal surgeries over the years. There was also the months she spent in hospital on bed rest when pregnant with first me than my brother, the 2 weeks I spent in the NICU and the 3 months my brother was also in the NICU. The most she ever paid altogether $40-50 for presriptions on discharge.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
I live in Australia. I have severe anxiety, that was treated with medication from my doctor. I also had an aneurysm, requiring nuro surgery to have it removed, and then was involved in a head on collision resulting in 3 broken ribs, a fractured back and my right shoulder was broken in 6 places requiring a shoulder reconstruction. I have no health insurance and the cost of all this treatment.... $28. That's for the medication I received for the pain killers for my nuro surgery and car accident, and the anti depressants for my anxiety. This would cost the government heaps... but I'm back at work because they fixed me and I'm paying taxes again. I was told that I shouldn't be responsible for others medical issues. But knowing that they covered me when I needed it, I have no issues with returning the favour. Keep this discussion going guys.
Aussie here. Paid my first Medicare levy at 18. Didn’t even have a Medicare card until I was 25. Did it bother me? Nope. Because I know my fellow Aussies need it, and one day I would too. Medicare isn’t for the individual, it’s for the whole. Private insurance on the other hand, please give me strength, the greatest con-job of all time. You pay, you pay, you use.... you pay again.
It was fascinating as an Aussie living in the USA for a year while my Australian wife worked as a surgeon at a major US hospital. Her assessment? The American healthcare system is screwed (yeah tell us something we don't know). Even the exact same medical supplies as we use in Australia were often way more expensive in the USA for some unknown reason. Then there was the arbitrary denial of care, such as the guy with the seriously infected ankle joint who was sent home from emergency surgery with a cement block replacing the ankle joint because someone decided at the last minute they wouldn't pay for it. And also there were numerous stories of patients having to take out loans and second mortgages to pay for their treatment, or just going home untreated after deciding they couldn't afford it (which is something she had never experienced before in her medical career). At the start of her term there several of her naive junior surgeon colleagues kept repeatedly telling her "we have the best healthcare in there world!" By the end of her term there, she had them all saying "we have the best healthcare in the world! Except for Australia and other countries!"
The British public system you can choose where your seen, who you see and at a time of your choosing, you also have to be referred, tested, treated and discharged by law within 18 weeks of the day you see your local family doctor. Excluding cancer or other emergency treatment where you must be treated and discharged within 2 weeks. This is part of the health services constitution and is non negotiable. All this costs the tax payer a fraction of what it costs the US taxpayer who then also have the added burden of having to pay a fortune for personal health insurance, all to receive a far lesser service, one that ranks 37 in the world by the World Health Organisation, lower than some third world countries. It’s time to wake up and sort the US system out, it’s a disgrace
I don't think here in the US we would ever get anything close to your NHS due to the strong opposition to the idea of socialized medical. Realistically a hybrid system would probably be our best chance.
@Yugioh Pokemon, I’m a commissioner for the national health service, it’s against the nhs constitution for a general practitioner to deny you your choice of time and place, if you have been referred within the last 10 years you would know this, as you choose your appointment online or over the telephone via the e-referral service. Previously called choose and book. The give away is in the title. If you mistakenly are referring to the way each regional health authority is paid per capita, what you are ignoring is that if a patent chooses to have their treatment out of their area their local health authority I.e me, bills the authority the patient has opted to be treated within. The nhs constitution is a public document if you want to educate yourself
@Yugioh Pokemon, yes we can, my doctor referred me for a hip replacement, my local hospital had a waiting list of 12 weeks so I asked to have it done at a hospital in London as their waiting time was only 5 weeks, I was seen by a consultant, had my hip replacement in London and discharged 7 weeks after my doctor first referred me to a consultant. I choose my hospital, and even the day and time the surgery took place. I was amazed, and I paid nothing!
@@backseatgaming9087 I'm a Labor supporter and i think the jobseeker program is not bad... but i'm pretty sure its because jobseeker bonuses and also all the bonuses on other programs were all thanks to the Labor party fighting for it and even doing all the work after the liberals didn't want to do that at all at first
What really triggers me is when people bring up the argument that with a public healthcare system, you're going to be paying for other people's healthcare. Healthcare spending per-capita in Australia is much lower than in the US. Our system is far more efficient than the American system. US insurance companies attempt to make as much profit as they possibly can. This profit amounts to a significant proportion of healthcare expenditure. In addition, there is little to no regulation regarding life saving medications such as EpiPen in the US. I personally need an EpiPen as i suffer from anaphylaxis. This medication is life saving in an emergency, so i have no other option than to buy it. In Australia, you can get this medication for a variety of prices. If you get a private prescription, the price is AU$70. If you get it through the PBS, it will either cost AU$40, AU$5 or AU$0, depending on your income. In the US, this exact same medication can only be bought in a two pack and the two pack can cost anywhere from US$650-700. This is absolutely absurd. Insurance and pharmaceutical companies in the US make huge profits off the back of an inefficient system that spends significantly more per-capita on healthcare than any other OECD country while having far worse health outcomes than many of these countries.
The whole "paying for someone else's healthcare" does my head in........what do they think they pay for with their private insurance premiums?? Unless they get very and expensively sick what they are paying for is other peoples healthcare (everyone else who is very and expensively sick and belongs to the same fund) and the shareholders next holidays..........NOT the brightest people on the block.
Exactly. We live in a community. So it’s much more sensible to spread the cost out among everybody and not load it on one person. That’s the whole point of taxation. We all pay for the army, we all pay for roads, we all pay for the health system. Because the alternative is, you get access if you have money, if you don’t have money you don’t have access. If that’s the case, you’re not living in a nation you are living in a every man for himself hunger games situation and have no business calling yourself a country
Another Aussie here who lived for years in the USA. I've also worked as a health professional in both public and private sectors in Australia. A couple of things not covered in this video- 1. The cost of a G.P visit in Australia is under $100 AUD (about $70USD) of which you will get a significant portion back from Medicare. In the USA I was once billed $750 USD for a 15 minute consult with a Dr for my 8yr old son who had conjunctivitis (I just needed a prescription written). I refused to pay the $750 and bargained the price down with the urgent care provider to under $200USD. The cost of health insurance monthly in the USA is what we paid for an entire year private health insurance in Australia for a family. 2. Any urgent, life threatening scenario in Australia will be free and you will be taken by ambulance (free) to the nearest hospital and treated- for free. 3. Cancer diagnosis and treatment is free in Australia if you go through the public system. My mother had bowel cancer which was detected in a routine healthcheck. She was checked yearly for signs of bowel cancer due to family history. It was detected, she had surgery to remove it. 2 weeks stay in hospital and follow up chemotherapy as an outpatient for 6 months. No charge at all. No delay in being seen either. 4. I had a melanoma last year. The skin clinic was free to all.. When the Dr there said he had concerns about a mole, I opted to use my private health coverage and went fully private to have a biopsy and then further day surgery to remove the melanoma. I did not have any further payments or out of pocket expenses. 5. When I worked in public hospitals, we were never told to reduce costs, not order consumables etc for patients. I had patients and I would order expensive items for them because they were the best and would give the patient the best result. I never had to provide a lesser service because the Government was picking up the tab. When I was working in private hospitals, the standard of care was lower. We were constantly told to watch the bottom line, patients did not get the best care because we were not 'funded' to provide therapy as well as treatment. I was not able to provide patients with consumables they required because we just didn't have the items and it was not within budget. Private hospitals can get you seen and treated more quickly and there is sometimes a wait in public hospitals for non urgent cases but if you need the care- you will get it in public hospitals in Australia and you won't pay anything other than your tax. I am so thankful for our healthcare system in Australia. We could probably improve some things but on the whole, we are doing pretty good. The healthcare system is so bad in the USA but there is a really strong unwillingness by many Americans to fix it or even to help out their fellow American. A cancer diagnosis is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the USA, that is soo wrong. The US healthcare system is also a reason why the US has been so badly affected by Covid 19 and why so many people have died there. I hope they overhaul their healthcare system and allow more Americans to get treated and live long and healthy lives.
@E B We are plastered with the issue in various forms of entertainment. Sick of hearing about something so stupid. Just like how we are sick of hearing about your school shootings. Horrible.
What should be (and in so many other countries, is) a non-issue, seems so incredibly difficult for you lot. Instead of insurance companies, employer health plans, co payments and the govt still kicking in more per person than any other country, do what the rest of us have done - pay more in tax, take more money home from your pay cheque, get treatment when you need it without worrying about bills/bankruptcy
both my parents would be dead if it wasn't for the NHS. The bills alone after their treatments would have made us bankrupt multiple times if we lived in the US.
Balla Jallow it’s funded through taxing our salaries (and of course the amount you get taxed depends on how much your earn.) So it kinda feels free for every citizen even though it’s not. But still a lot cheaper than the US.
Waiting times in Australia only started to increase dramatically after the private insurance rebate scheme was introduced. Conservative governments over the years have defunded and closed down hospitals (especially in rural areas) to place pressure on the public system and promote private health insurance.
I feel such empathy for our U.S. cousins. I couldn't imagine being refused medical coverage due to insurance. The Medicare system here has helped me with chronic illness and rehabilitation. Cannot fault it.
Australian Here 2017 after a few bouts of pneumonia my mother had scans and ultimately a biopsy what was a carcinoid tumor in her lung. Within a month she was operated on to remove 2/3 of her lung in a larger regional area, travel was covered as was a portion of additional accommodation costs for her. She received 4 rounds of chemotherapy at the beginning of 2018. All of the above was without any cost to her or the family (apart from travel/accom for her surgery). After her final round of chemo mum actually got an infection and went septic. She went to the hospital in an ambulance, spent about 10 days in ICU and was bedridden in isolation for approximately 10 weeks. She was in the hospital for just under 6 months. Again the full hospital stay with all the specialists and tests and scans and everything that happened was at zero cost to her and the family. Where our medicare system falls down is mum's rehabilitation ... she can't qualify for any disability as she is "getting better" and can't be diagnosed. Yet we can't continue to pay for the intense physical therapy she needs. She will most likely not be able to walk without a walker which has resulted in needing a "carer" to at best be her driver. Still, if the only issue we have from the past 2 years of my mother's rollercoaster concerning her health is a lack of physiotherapy I still say we are coming out winning. < Non-Life-Threatening Medical Example> Again 2017 (yes this was a great year for me) my husband received neurosurgery. He had a vertebre from his cervical removed and a cage inserted in its place. Again like my mother above, transportation and contribution towards accommodation were provided by Qld Health. The surgery, his stay in a private hospital and his neurosurgeon were all covered at no cost. HOWEVER, my husband had been suffering from chronic pain for over 3 years leading up to this surgery. We live in a regional area that has no neurosurgeons so the "waiting list" never went anywhere. Had we lived in a capital city we most likely would have had an earlier resolution. Even if we had private health cover with no neurosurgeons in our city it is unlikely we would have been able to see one on our own anyway. As it was my husband was seen due to a "long waiting list" program utilising private specialists. If not for this program it is likely that he would still be suffering today. But the program existed and within a month of seeing the specialist, he had his surgery and has been pain-free since. Would also like to highlight a couple of errors in the above story: Dental and optical are covered for low-income Australians under Medicare. In fact, all Australians get free eye exams every 2 years unless flagged for more consistent testing). Dental is also free for all children. Some states have an ambulance scheme which makes all ambulance transport free. You don't need to have private health as non-life-threatening issues will and can be treated under Medicare it will just take a while.
As an Australian, I have private insurance but majority of the time I use Medicare. I have the same general practitioner I have had for 25 years, I am bulk billed, meaning no out of pocket expenses, can usually get an appointment within a day, two at the most and if I need to see a specialist, the wait is not long. I have had to use the emergency department many times and am nothing but in awe of what we get regarding treatment. All this for 2% of our taxable income, an absolute bargain.
Not a criticism but the point of private health is it's meant to decrease reliance on Medicare (hense the incentive) but the Medicare system is so much easier and better (single form, one number, simple) that many people just don't go through private. Particularly as sometimes it'll actually involve charges (even in public hospitals) although some publicly funded places now cover the gap as they get more for it.
@@Chrazzari exactly. I have private health in Australia (employer actually pays for it, lucky me) solely for the tax benefit. Never have and never plan to use it as the public system is more than adequate for my needs.
I truely feel sorry for Americans you are living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world but you can't afford to go to the doctor. This IS 3rd world. Also this really didn't touch on a lot of the finer points of Australia's health care system which is FAR superior to the American one.
Also a little known fact: Australia is actually one of the few (perhaps the only) countries to abolish a universal health care scheme. Australia's first universal health care scheme, Medibank (which didn't last very long), was effectively abolished in 1981 and uninsured people then faced potentially large bills if they were admitted to hospital. At the next federal election however, there was a change of government (which didn't have a lot to do with the aforementioned abolition of Medibank) and that government then reinstated universal health care as Medicare in 1984.
Is that why Medibank private is a thing, never new knew that, just remember seeing their ads as a child and wondering why anyone would pay for medical care when it was free
@@Park501 Yes. When Malcolm Fraser came in as PM he set it up so the government could say they weren't abolishing Medibank completely (this was before the original public Medibank scheme was abolished in 1981), and to provide competition to existing funds.
Imagine giving the Australian system to a country that has a population size that's over 10x bigger than it.. with way more illegal immigrants. Sure that will work. Lol.
Imagine giving the Australian system to a country that has a population size that's over 10x bigger than it.. with way more illegal immigrants. Sure that will work. 🤦🏽♂️lol
@@Blessindisguise actually if u do research it shows australia spends less money on a sing person for healthcare than american spends on a single person
@@Blessindisguise yeah economies of scale and the fact that the US produces heaps of pharmaceuticals onshore, you're right it could be heaps cheaper, more efficient and better run than Australia's system.
@@Ye-nt4fv wasn't talking about money. I was talking about medical office space and capacities. As you can see during this pandemic there isn't enough capacity. Now add that too it the system would have completely broken.
I have a friend who has worked in private and public hospitals in Aus. Funny thing is she says patients she's tended to often have better or at least no worse experiences in the public hospitals. She says the big problem with the private system is the hospital doesn't prioritise getting the patient tended to quickly and sent home if it's not a life-threatening emergency. They bill the insurance company per day so if they get one patient home and replace with another, they get paid the same so they don't care to increase throughput as long as there's a warm body in every bed. The doctors in the private system lose money if they have too few patients (they have to pay the same to have rooms at the private hospital whether they have 100 patients or 0) so they try to book more patients than they can conveniently see. This leaves the less urgent patients waiting days before their doctor bothers to come see them while in the public system they might have been seen to and discharged on the same day. There is a sharp decline in people keeping private health policies in Australia as more and more people are just finding it's not worth it. I'd happily pay more in taxes to get better results than an insurance company to fund really wasteful practices.
Martin T, Aussie here. I can assure you most people in Australia are completely fine with our Medicare system. Even the poorest people are able to get free or subsidised medical assistance when needed. Get out of your own little “I worked for this money so therefore only I should be able to get it” bubble and start realising that we are all human and should all have the same opportunities and help as everyone else no matter your situation
At 65 years old in Australia and without any medical insurance I needed dual full knee replacement surgery. I had to wait just 4 months from going onto the waiting list until my surgery became available. I had the full surgery with all hospital services and post-op rehab for absolutely zero cost. If I'd had private health insurance the only difference would have been surgery within 2 to 4 weeks and my choice of doctor - the hospital would have been the same since surgery was done at a major hospital anyway but I'd have been been able to choose a private room for post-op recovery. The Australian system rocks! 👍
Like how a person's income determines the quality of house they live in? Mansions for all!! But the most important thing is that the surgery was free for someone without medical insurance. If there was just 1 tier, it would only favour the extremely wealthy.
@@johnmoore1495 Unfortunately if people couldn't skip the queue for non-urgent care then that would be a legitimate critique of the system. People in the US are fearful that long waits are a feature of a 'for all' healthcare system, when as shown, they need not be. Being slightly uncomfortable for a few months is better than being bankrupt.
Another Aussie here. I got diagnosed with a rare genetic disease, aHUS. I go into a public hospital for infusions every fortnight. The drug costs $20k each time, or $400k per year. It costs me nothing, but the public hospital asked if they could use my private health insurance so they get some $$ back. Of course! And as a thank you, I get a parking and coffee voucher each time. No, don't thank me, thanks to our amazing healthcare system.
Aren’t us Aussies so lucky. I’m from Northern Territory, I had a rare form of jaw cancer that required 14 hours or surgery, 1 week of ICU and 5 months of aftercare that cost me $0.
As an Aussie, I’m glad that if I have urgent health problems, I walk into a public hospital and wave my Medicare card to get great healthcare, not my credit card. However, for elective procedures, I prefer to use the private healthcare system, due to shorter waiting times. In America, so much is so cheap in comparison to Australia, I just don’t understand why healthcare has to be so expensive.
@@Luminaria86Broadly and briefly, if you're on a good income (mid-high) you pay some additional tax if you don't subscribe to private healthcare. The cost to do so is usually marginal against the additional tax so most do it and it offers them faster care for surgeries that are not life threatening but inconvenient.
msjp81 ok I used to buy private health to save on tax just as you described, but realised that is a couple of thousand dollars going to a corporate entity that could have gone to Medicare instead. I’m not old enough to have health problems and figured my money should go to Medicare to help people who need it more. That’s more important than me saving a bit of tax.
They couldn't due to many factors but the big 3 are money, greed and power that the Democratic parties love to control. Unfortunately they are clueless on how the system is run and that it is Not Free like they keep on harping in the media and out of the government members mouths. It has problems too.
I'm Russian, we have universal health care. My dad had a hip joint replacement last year for free. My private insurance from my company covered my gall bladder removal. I paid for my eye surgery, but then received 13% back in tax returns. What I'm saying is that our system is not perfect, but clearly way more affordable than in the US.
@@enigma194 He probably pays taxes too. I'm happy to pay taxes to know that everyone in this country has access to affordable healthcare, it's a basic human right.
I was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, I had a 6 & a half hour op & spent 3 days I C U , 14 days all up in hospital , I'm on a pension & didn't pay anything & got treated like I was the only patient, I got treated like a queen
I am so glad that beside medical help you got responsive care...my wife has been treated for cancer in the last year and also had a knee replacement...she had the best, kindest and most wonderful care...all for free..(except for hospital parking fees, lol)
As an Australian woman who has had breast cancer 3 times all my surgery, hospital stays, chemo, radio and plastic surgery is covered. Top class medical professionals and great care. Brilliant system.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
I think that an issue I see here in Australia is for people who live away from the larger cities. Rural doctors are much less likely to bulk bill and waiting then traveling long distances to see specialists if you live a long way away is a huge cost (not to mention that some people travel huge distances for elective surgeries which are delayed for long periods of time because of emergencies...though I guess that happens everywhere in the world). I think a lot of problems with our health care, schools, and transport come down to being a spread out fairly small population and those problems are much more difficult to solve.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
In Australia - Medicare only covers visits to the family doctor and specialists. No hospital cover. We have free public hospitals for that, and like everywhere else, the waiting times are ridiculous. Then we have a drug scheme that pays some of the drug costs and we keep drug prices low by negotiating hard with the drug companies as a "single payer" country. If we didn't have Americans paying top rice for drugs to cover research and development, we'd be paying a LOT more. If you want to choose your doctor/surgeon, go to a private hospital, get dental cover, optical cover, etc, you have to buy private health insurance at between $2000-6000 per year. That's our two-tiered system. It provides a basic safety net, but if you want good treatment you have to buy coverage. Also it's not a part of our culture for employers to buy it for you. It works, but no better than the US system - we have plenty of horror stories.
I have been living in Australia for last 15 years and lived in Japan before and Medicare in Japan is even better than Australia. Seeing specialist is so easy and it’s very reasonable priced. Medicare covers 70%. But having me said that, Australia’s medi care system is also good. I feel sorry for people in USA. No Medicare and guns are legal and mass shooting happening every month.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
As someone who’s lived in Australia as a non citizen their healthcare system is extremely efficient. While true sometimes waiting to see a doctor in a public out-of-hospital services can have a wait time like 3-6 months, if you have private health insurance it is still very affordable. Insurance covers literally everything. Infact if you utilize your insurance company’s panel doctors there is no gap fee. I went to my gp a million times without a care. When I went to a specialist referred by my gp I got discounts on the fee and my insurance covered the rest. When I was prescribed medicines on the PBS list they were 1000 times cheaper than the US and you could even claim those with your insurance. The insurance was so affordable even to non citizens and there are many clinics and hospitals in each suburb. You always have access to health care.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
Care is excellent and quick in australia if it needs urgent attention through public hospital/health networks. But if you have a chronic condition that is stable but you are suffering, you could wait many months (sometimes over a year) for specialist medical care through the public system. But this varies geographically, wealthier areas tend to be serviced better because politics. This long wait time for often painful, but not dangerous ailments is a big driver in people accessing private system, either through paying out of pocket or private insurance. The wait times here are much shorter. In my experience the public service is often demonised for its long wait times. It does leave people suffering for too long and I'd love to see that addressed. But for urgent and semi urgent care it's fantastic, I'm really proud of it - it's just under resourced, but it could scale up very well.
I get around the longer wait times for less urgent needs by seeing the doctor I want to see in their private rooms, and paying the medicare gap.......then having whatever treatment I need done by that same doctor in a public hospital......you will find the majority of "private" doctors work in both systems and have their own theatre slots allocated via a public hospital.
Jay Santos “infant mortality rate” is a rate, meaning it’s based off a set number of births. On the top of the graph it literally says “per 1,000 live births.” So for every 1000 babies, 2.5 less babies die in Australia vs the US.
John Moore true that they quoted the real number but the way they drew the chart make us (or myself) feel like the life expectancy of the Americans is less than 1 half of the Australians. Numbers are facts but presentation of those numbers may distort our perception to those facts. Right?
Healthcare in America is treated like a product or commodity. The "winners" in that system are people who have either of these factors or a combination of them: they are wealthy, work in careers that pay well and their employer offers good employee health benefits, in a good state of health and somehow never have anything bad happen to them that would require them to have expensive medical treatment.
Exactly. U.S system only benefits the rich and middle-upper class. While the poor suffer. Did you know 27 million Americans in 2018 went without health coverage?
The reason why is costs way more in the US for health care is because they are in it for the money and not for the care of the ill. Our Doctors and Nurses in Australia are far more ethical and you don't see many driving expensive cars.
From Australia: good review. I was injured a year ago in a car accident that wrote off my car. The TAC (Traffic Accident Commission) of the state of Victoria offers amazing support paying all my medical bills and recent surgery as well has hydro and physiotherapy. They’re even paying for my lawyer to sue them for the accident and pay my petrol or taxi to drive to medical or legal appointments. Amazing system as far as I am concerned. Part of the registration each with the car and is compulsory as it is in all states here!
The argument about wait times keeps being misused, at least here in Australia, its not just a straight increase in wait time, its a trade off, only the non-vital treatment takes longer, while in return you get VITAL, life saving treatment quicker, and its available to anyone and everyone immediately without any third party like an insurance company, i don't need to speak with medicare, only the hospital admin at the front desk when i show up, and all they do is search for me by name and date of birth. Two years ago i had a gallstone in the middle of the night, i was in my boxer shorts, i had no wallet or ID, I got an ambulance in about 5 mins who filled me with morphine then took me to the hospital, didn't touch a single bit of paper, didn't have to pay anyone anything, when i was good to go in the morning i just got a prescription for pain killers and other preventative meds (2 for about $10 each, about 1$ a pill) and then i just walked out, when home, done and dusted. Why America doesn't have this in the 21st century is beyond me, we've had it here since before i was born in the 80's, and its always been great. My old man had private insurance for a while after a "car accident", broken leg, pins, skin grafts, months in hospital and repeated visits years after for future complications, the care was the same (because its great in both), the only thing they provided on-top of the care was nicer beds, fancier rooms and food, massage therapists, counseling etc, all nice things, but nothing really to do with the vital medical side of it, it was pretty much "Your normal free care + day spa addons"
The challenge we have here is that many retirees move to the country/rural areas because their pension/nest eggs/etc.. will sustain an easy life there. Then age becomes an issue and medical/hospital care in a convenient distance becomes an issue...
Another point to mention is that the ambulance service in each state of Australia is publicly funded and as long as you are a Australian citizen who has a Medicare card (everyone), emergency ambulance transports are free. This is also true for air ambulance transports via helicopter and plane. Whilst the system does have problems for people with perhaps non life threatening problems such as wisdom teeth removal, if you are sick or dying you will be treated and you will not be charged. Private cover is purely to shorten wait times, get more choice of doctor, and to pay for non Medicare treatments .. again using wisdom teeth removal as it is something that happened to me.
Australian here. I dislocated my knee in a sporting injury at school that knocked off a large portion of my cartilage. Due to the nature of the 'cartilage floating around' I had to have surgery within a week of the injury. After an ambulance trip, a day in hospital, home for a week with free medication, overnight surgery, physiotherapy fortnightly, mobility equipment, more medication, and personal training to regain muscle. I have paid
If that's the case then your surgery is likely not critical and you would still have had the option to have it done sooner privately if that's what you wanted.
@baby bean _ , given that healthcare has been a hot topic during the Democratic debates, it seems like different people are advocating for different things. For instance, Bernie Sanders has often advocated for a system resembling that in Scandinavian countries and the UK, both of which do incorporate private involvement. There is no single opinion of "the left", despite what Fox and Ben Shapiro might tell you, other than perhaps that Trump seriously sucks.
if you've been on it for a year then its obviously something non urgent like tonsil removal. you can quite easily pay for the surgery yourself if your not happy with the wait...
Keep in mind in America the whole system is largely a business, which means their primary goal is to make money not treat people. The people in charge I mean, not specifically the doctors and nurses that actually treat you but the people that employ them. If it continues to be a business their will be price increases and mark ups just for the sake of profit. That’s the downside of healthcare as a business. Health care should and can be a right to the people not a luxury.
Australian here. We pay 2% of our income for Medicare (public health insurance). This is $150 per month for a $90k income. This covers everything from emergency treatment, to specialist surgery, diagnostics and chemotherapy. Our Medicare levy (the 2% tax) also covers people who are disabled to provide special support to them. Things like home fit-outs, car conversions, support staff, etc. Basically so if your kid is born with a disability, you don’t go broke. The NDIS (public disability cover) will help you out with support staff, home equipment, etc, whilst you continue to do your normal day jobs and your kid gets the support he should get. Also, Medicare doesn’t cover elective surgery (like plastic surgery), but you can buy private cover from a private insurer on top which does give you cover. Decent private health insurance cover is about $130 a month on top. Good cover covers you for everything from helicopter evacs to breast augmentation. Having a good public system means that the private system is forced to be more price competitive, because a public system lacks that fundamental overhead of profit. If you look at it another way, profit is just another cost for the insurer, and the public insurer is not allowed to profit. Here if you are privately insured, you can still be public if you choose. There is also a very small amount of junk cover in our private health insurance market too. Some people on very cheap private health insurance for example (cover just for the reason of gaining a tax advantage) get basically nothing in return. But that is the private system. Add a cash incentive to any system and there will exist some type of gouging. Maybe it’s not the best system in the entire world, but it does ok. As usual, the private insurers are the biggest problem here too. People can still go broke medically here if they have junk private health insurance and decide not to be treated as public patients, or some types of cancer which fall through the coverage gaps, but it only really happens on the private system when people refuse public treatment (opt private only). Not their fault at all also, it’s just private insurers know how to keep their profit margins as high as possible, and add as many gaps and exclusions as they legally can. Like I said, our problem here are the private insurers also. We did have a publicly owned private health insurer, which worked brilliantly to keep all private health insurers charging a reasonable amount by setting the prices fairly, but we have one of those “privatise everything” governments, so they just sold it off and then prices for cover started increasing by about 8% per year. Don’t get me wrong also, privatisation can be great, but privatising all aspects of the health insurance system is about the dumbest bloody thing anyone could ever think to do. No offence by the way, it’s definitely not the will of the people to have things go that way, just the want of those who hold power who are paid for by those in the private health insurance industry. Sometimes also it’s hard to see how messed up something is when you’ve never known any different. So, to that I say: How would you like your firefighters to be private? So if your house was burning down, they stopped out the front and asked for payment first. No payment, no house. It’s messed up. The US health insurance system is messed up. You deserve to be covered regardless of your financial status, race, religion, other. You deserve not to be bankrupted by having an accident. Otherwise, what is the point of having a government? It is their bloody job to take care of you. You own the government, and you pay taxes for this very reason. They are the caretakers of your great nation, and not your masters - you are theirs. If you speak, they will hear you. A vote if a very powerful tool, regardless of what politicians tell you. Any politician who says a single vote does not matter does not deserve yours - because it most certainly does matter. We are all praying for you guys over there, and we pray that the needless loss of life due to a broken system ends. Godspeed, great nation.
High taxation is the reason for highest household debt in the world Australia, Norway , Denmark you aren't telling the whole truth when has a labor supporter ever have
In Australia the private system is superfluous, that everything that happens in the private system already happens and then more so in the public system.
Here in New Zealand, we have both a free public universal healthcare system, whilst also having a private health insurance option (mainly to skip wait lists and cover things that the public healthcare won't cover). That said, I'm also planning to buy private insurance as well once I start earning more.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
So glad to live in the land down under. You can thank the Labor government for our healthcare system. If it was up to the Liberals they would dismantle it.
@@Corey-pd3mi "Medicare is the publicly funded universal health care insurance scheme in Australia, that includes its external territories, operated by Services Australia (formerly the Department of Human Services). Medicare is the main source of funding of health care in Australia, either partially or fully covering the cost of most primary health care services for eligible citizens, residents and visitors. Residents are entitled to a rebate for treatment by medical practitioners, eligible midwives, nurse practitioners and allied health professionals who have been issued a Medicare provider number, and can also obtain free treatment in state public hospitals. The scheme was created in 1975 by the Whitlam Government under the brand Medibank, and was limited by the Fraser Government in 1976 to paying customers only. The Hawke Government reinstated universal health care in 1984 under the brand of Medicare. Medibank continued to exist as a government-owned private health insurance provider until it was privatised by the Abbott Government in 2014."
You can thank labor we pay way more for cars than Usa , they pushed up luxury car tax to 33% in 2008 , liberals raised the theshold to $67000aud. Wrx sti , 370z , s3 , challenger scat pac $10000 cheaper and it's always progrssive voters that whinge about business gouging them
Aussie here. My father had a heart attack a few years back. Had to have an operation to put a Stent in. Was in hospital for a week after under observation. Didn't pay a single cent. I don't mind our taxes. While high, I can deal with it for what it provides. I and my family regularly go for check ups etc. Nothing out of pocket up front. The issue America will face is getting people to pay a much larger tax bill in one hit. In Australia its evolved over many years.
I have 2 daughters - both are diabetic (Type 1) and on insulin. 6 months of insulin costs us $6.30 each 6 month prescription ... that's for 30 Novapens per person. Needles are FREE. Their blood glucose meters were given to them by their diabetes educators and the sugar test strips cost $1.40 for a box of 100 (they are $47 per box if you are not registered with the National Diabetes service) . Ketone test strips are I think about $10 a box but are not on the service. A glucagon needle (rapid response for super low blood sugar) is also $6.30. When my eldest daughter slipped and broke her foot (a lis-fracture) a few years ago, we went to the ER and saw the doctors there. They did an X Ray, stuck a cast on her and we had to come back 4 days later after some of the swelling went down and the bruising came out so they could determine if she would need screws. We saw an orthopedic surgeon and she had 2 CAT scans, probably a dozen Xrays, 2 hospital overnight stays (one to put in screws and one to take them out) and about 6 casts over 5 months - total cost to me $140 - which was for the anaesthetist. A few years later, she had a baby that required a week in the neonatal ICU. She got 4 days in a single person ward bed, then was able to sleep in the same room as her son while he was treated. (His heart stopped twice after birth and he had jaundice). Total cost $0.00 ... yup ZERO. While she was sleeping in the room with her son, she was provided tea and coffee, but she had to get her own meals from the canteen downstairs. During the birth she had a gas, morphine and an epidural - all no charge. When I had my kids, I had private health care mainly because I wanted to choose my gyno for the delivery and I was having them in a private hospital. I am now on a pension so I get a health concession card which gives me free health care, PBS medicine at $6.30 per prescription, dental ($25 per visit including extractions, fillings etc), free eye tests and cheaper glasses, free ambulance and free blood tests etc. I worked for over 25 years and the amount they take out is tiny - it is 1% of your taxable income - so if you earn $40,000 per year after your deductions, you pay a whole $400 for it. Seriously - how can you complain?
One thing to remember as well is that even the gold plated super maximum private health coverage is massively cheaper than in the USA. Almost everything can be had for free, it's a choice whether you go bulk billed or gap payment.
I live in Australia , if you damage a ligament in the knee, could wait a yr on public system . But if you have a broken leg or a heart condition you are treated straight away for free. In public hospitals. Unlike the USA ,the best machines and best doctors for major ops, transplants, brain surgery are in the public hospitals ,and are all for free , no out of pocket expense . You are treated and operated ASAP. it is simple private cannot compete with public. If you want a doctor of choice then you go through the private system.
Due to a few problems. I spent 30 months in an Australian hospital room (4 weeks in ICU) total cost to me was about 2 grand, which got picked up by private insurance
As an Australian - some of your reporting is incorrect. 1:01 Australia has better health care than America. Not comparable. We don't have sick citizens being turned away from doctors or hospitals because they don't have health insurance - like America. 1:28 Medicare DOES cover dental. Wait times are long, usually a month from booking. Unless emergency dental, that's instant. 2:09 The government rebate on people that have elected to have private health cover, is to incentivise people using private health cover and taking pressure off the public system. 5:30 Correct, choice of doctor and choice when your appointments are. You can still select appointments under the public system, however, they're busy, so trying to get an appointment is more restricted as to when they can see you. 6:06 If it's a 'just in case', you get low priority. If your GP believes that there is a risk, your referral does give you higher priority. Dr Bates is not accurate by generalising. 6:16 as above, if you are in a risk category, your GP will refer you and you will get priority. Finally, one huge omission - The PBS (pharmaceutical benefits scheme) Treatments, medicines, medications etc are HEAVILY discounted for ALL Australians to the point whereby you may only pay 10% of the cost of the medication. And free or further discounted if you are on welfare. Lastly, any emergency procedure is free. The ambulance service to take you to hospital is not free. However for $50 per year, it's free.
Casey there’s a lot to complain about here in Australia, but we have it pretty good when it comes to health care. I feel pretty sorry for the Americans.
Wait we are suppose to pay for ambulance fees? I have never paid and i'm in my late 20's. But yes our health care system is not perfect but it is alot better than the american health care system.
Public Dental covers most children, but adults must be on Centrelink pension/welfare. Waiting times more like a year, therefore not viable. I've only known one adult person in my life who has used this system.
@@BWater-yq3jx not true if you need dental and arent on a centrelink payment you go to the doctors and get a dental voucher to cover tge cost of dental procedures
Australian health care EXPLAINED PROPERLY Emergency care- free Children's vaccinations- Free Hospital stays- Free. Operations- Free Ambulance- free (or $50 per year in some states) Childbirth- free NICU and baby care- free Inpatient specialists- free ICU care - free Permanant Dementia patient- free In hospital medications- free Home medications- Average 1/7th the price for the same in america.
Australian here: I really appreciate the emergency aspect of our healthcare. As someone whose family has had a number of issues that require IMMEDIATE attention (severe SVT, acute appendicitis, acute tumors), I really like how we can go to the ER, get whatever treatment we need and be on our way without paying anything. Last year, my appendix became swollen, so I had to be rushed to the ER to have it removed. One day in the ER, a surgery and an overnight stay later and I walked out having paid nothing. Same with the severe SVT episodes for my family - pay absolutely nothing
I am Australian and Had three babies via Cesarean. The first two were emergency Cesarean and so the doctor and I agreed to a planned cesarean. I paid $100 each for a specific ultrasound and the car parking fees. that's what it costs to have a baby in Australia.
Just to add my case, my appendix burst (in Australia). I spent a month in hospital, that was free. I have paid taxes for the 22 years since that happened. I currently work a job that I can manage alone for six months a year saving my employer about 30K a year because no one had ever done it before (I have done that for 4 years, being 120k in saving to an employer). So the Australian health system fixed me, put me back in the system and I have contributed at full effort ever since. There is no benefit in leaving people on benefits due to sub-standard health care to drain the system.
As much as I hate left wing ideology, Americas right needs to rethink healthcare. Here in Australia we are all happy we don't lose everything because we get sick
Another Australian here. Six years ago my mum had emergency surgery for a bowel obstruction. After staying in hospital for six weeks (she also has Parkinson's and it took a while to recover) she was discharged and the bill was zero dollars.
Literally had a surgery in Australia this morning. I paid $32 out of pocket. The rest was covered by my taxes. The US system is absolute insanity to me...
Almost everything is bulk billed so you don't pay out of pocket at all. Most doctors are covered entirely by medicare and for those with a gap fee you know up front.
I love Chemists Warehouse, there's so many doodads, I could spend hours there 😄😄😄 Anyway, I'm glad you were well taken care of and hope your arm healed well.
I am a pensioner in Australia and my doctor bulk bills in his practice. He may drive a car which is a few years old not a brand new BMW, but he is respected and a bloody good doctor
Nice insight into the Ozzie health system. I’m in Canada where yes, at least in Ontario, doctors could charge an additional fee as they can do now in Australia. Back in the 70”s and into the 1980’s my family doctor charged extra, if it was an office visit or a check up he would charge an additional $15 on top of what the government plan covered. Now remember that was also in 1970 something dollars, so not cheap but he was an excellent doctor so we didn’t gripe too much about it. Other G.P’s I knew or heard of accepted the governments payment without extra fees to the patient. Then the rules changed and they could no longer charge extra. I am 95% satisfied with the system here sure it can have a few faults but all in all pretty damn good. The positives far outweigh the negatives. The health care system is the one reason I’m thankful my father moved is back up here after some time living in the States when I was very young.
Australian here.
10 years ago my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumour. She had neurosurgery, and stayed in hospital for a week to recover (2 nights in ICU, 5 nights on the ward)
The full cost of the surgery was over $250k. Wanna know what my parent paid under our Medicare system????
$785, which was $157 per night for her 5 nights on the ward. That’s it.
So every time I get a payslip and I look at the money I’ve lost to tax, I think about my mother’s tumour free brain, and the fact that my parents didn’t have to sell their house, and I think “that’s money well spent”.
Why did she pay for hospital stay?
My dad went through a similar situation. That's why Ive never complained about paying taxes
jamie kelly the problem is that Medicare and social welfare is keep our taxes high. Once you earn over $90k your paying 50% tax.
People complain about the 1% getting richer, it’s because the upper middle class are kept as a middle class to pay for the lower class.
The taxes should be lower and there should be some out of pocket expenses when seeing doctors or going to school, people spend their own money more carefully than when it’s “free”.
@@AussieZeKieL I don't disagree with the sentiment in your comment. Apart from the school part (only if you are including primary and high school as needing out of pocket costs). I think your 50% is exaggeration I earned 130k and played 40k in tax last year
jamie kelly well I said after $90k your paying 50% tax. 38% income tax. 2% Medicare Levi. 10% GST on purchases.
I’m sure your familiar with the tax brackets which is why if you earn $105k you’ll only pay about $27k tax (approximately).
As an Australian, this video did an incredibly poor job of explaining how the Aussie system actually works...
U r not Australian
@@androidbey what gives you that conclusion?
I’m also an Australian and I agree that this video doesn’t really explain how the Australian Medicare works.
Agreed. Me and my family have gone to the doctors hundreds of times over the years, especially with my mum and sister having long term illnesses. The only costs we’ve paid are for the actual medication.
Another Australian here. Agree that this isn't a good example or explain well how the Australian system works in the majority of cases. Having a persistent chronic condition which isn't always life threatening (as explained by the American lady) is going to potentially result in sub-optimal care under Medicare. But, as others have said, for anything acute like a heart attack or major surgery, Medicare will shine in comparison to the US system as all of that treatment will generally be covered with minimal out-of-pocket costs (if any). For less life threatening or preventative issues you can have waitlist problems etc as mentioned by the Australian lady and would probably benefit from private health insurance. But I think the main benefit of Medicare is that it removes that feeling of hopelessness that the American describes in this video - something which I was very sad to hear her say.
Australian here. We LOVE our Medicare system. Universal healthcare for all. This video didn’t mention our Pharmacuetical Benefits Scheme; where the government covers prescription drugs.
Truth! I pay $5-10 for an asthma inhaler here in Australia, it cost me nearly $50 in the USA! I was just gobsmacked! What if I didn’t have $50 on me? Just die from an asthma attack?
Dale Lane Yes. Extreme Capitalism at it’s finest
N why? Do you think that countries that have $5 medications aren’t regulated? And they are also capitalist, just more socialist than the USA. So if you blame big pharma, insurance companies, and government regulation who all play a hand in economics and JUST WANT TO MAKE MONEY, that is Capitalism and in USA it’s to the extreme.
@N why? the PBS is still capitalism just the consumer pays $5 say for the $50 medication and the government pays the other $45 and some medications are added to the scheme every few years and some are removed as newer better medications are found
@@joebloggs5629 . Need to do some research on both health care system. Both have issues. Really.
This video was very poorly done. Things it did not cover:
- in an emergency, ambulance is free, ED is free, emergency procedure including major surgery is free.
- While many Australians choose to have private health insurance, you DO NOT need it. Even elective surgeries can be done in the public system although wait times can be long.
- Unlike the video suggested Optical and Dental can be done in the public system, and even when not bulk-billed (no gap) it is still offset by Medicare.
- The Phamaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) is a scheme in which the government heavily offsets the cost of prescription medication. From everyday drugs like ventolin for asthmatics to obscure medications for rare conditions, chemotherapy drugs, morphine, you name it it’s probably covered. And these drugs will be affordable for almost everyone even if they are on a pension.
- Mental health is also provided for. A mental health care plan will mean a person is entitled to 10 sessions with a psychologist and many will not charge more than what is covered by Medicare. A person can receive as many as the need, they just need to see a doctor again for a new plan.
- Private health insurance in Australia is heavily regulated to avoid people with chronic conditions discriminated against, although the system hasn’t worked perfectly.
- Many other things like immunisations, pathology, medical imaging, allied health (physiotherapy, dieticians, occupational therapy, speech pathology, rehabilitation etc.) are all covered to different degrees by Medicare.
More than anything else this video didn’t really communicate that in this country no matter what happens if you need medical care, you will get it. Emergencies, cancer, chronic disease doesn’t matter. Yes private health insurance might mean you get to chose your surgeon and for elective surgeries may be performed sooner. But no one “needs” to have it. Even if you do want it, it will cost you less than in the US. And if you have a chronic condition you won’t be bankrupted.
Emil Chandran thank you for covering the missing bits mate
Yeah it’s good for genuine emergency but anything below that it’s dreadful. I’ve had a broken nose completely unable to breathe, 4 weeks wait for surgery in public system and would’ve been in a hospital 2.5 hours away 2 days wait in private in my town. Dislocated shoulder, originally told no problem, sling for six weeks and check it again in public, rushed in for next day surgery because of the risk of further damage in the private system. Broken jaw, three week wait in public, operated on in 3 days in private. My dad needed a knee replacement he hobbled around for 14 months before he could get in to a public hospital. That’s why I have private insurance, public is ridiculously inefficient for anything under life threatening.
John Walker for the amount of funding the public system is receiving it operates extremely efficiently. The private sector is funded through the roof both by our government and their own profits. For the amount of funding the private sector receives they operate at a very inefficient level.
I had a heart attack when I was 25 and nothing out of pocket here in Australia, I even had to see specialist due to paralyzed vocal chords from the heart attack, and the hospital paid the private doctors fees for me.
Two years later I needed to get a pacemaker due to damage from the heart attack, this time I had private heath and thought I would use it, two weeks later I received a bill... I promptly canceled my private health and just created my own fund to pay that money into.
I have been involved in designing a few private hospitals over the years and it's pretty clear there business model is money over health, I have even had private doctors tell me the hire 1 good lead Doc and 10 crap ones as it saves money for the organization. I have had public doctors tell me they would refuse to do go private as it would limit the amount of people they could help.
John Walker I dislocated my shoulder and had it fixed 4 hours after I did it
Another Australian here: this video does not give justice to the true benefit of our Medicare. My experience 3 serious and long surgeries and the cost was $0. Beat that.
Yep same......5 weeks in hospital, including a lengthy spell in ICU, 12 hours of open heart surgery cost $0......and that is just one of the 20 surgeries Ive had through our public system.
Lol its not 0, we pay through taxes.
@@FFlores-fr2ew That is just one of the very good reasons for government taxes.
@@FFlores-fr2ew right winger
@Damir Saric tbh the taxes are excessive in australia, which are advantageous to those putting in the least effort. But yeah Medicare is a must
As an aussie i highly recommend universal healthcare and think America is insane....
Rebecca Parker we’re not insane. Just enslaved and brainwashed by an oligarchic elite 👍
@@gremlinking5640 Not enslaved. You don't know how good you have it. You don't know how free you are. You're ungrateful.
Shane Mesch well I’m certainly not grateful that I was born in the United States as opposed to Australia or any of the various European countries that feature universal healthcare and free college education. For that chance of birth I get to be a debt slave for possibly my entire adult life. But yes, I am grateful that I wasn’t born in El Salvador or any other country that has been impoverished and exploited by colonialism.
Gremlin King nicely said Gremlin. You're an educated yank which is refreshing to see!
Rebecca Parker agreed as an Aussie I don’t get why America didn’t want healthcare for all. Americans needs to research and stop living in a box
As an Australian, I feel incredibly grateful that I can seek medical care in any situation without financial costs even being a factor. Everyone should have the right to medical care without having to think twice about it.
Shelter should also be guaranteed. End homelessness already.
@WeeStrom CO Guy to buy food, to buy clothes, to buy goods and services, to travel, to invest in new businesses and technology.
All sectors of the economy other than developers and landlords could improve if housing was more accessible, affordable and secure allowing consumers to have more spending money and investment confidence
WeeStrom CO Guy what’s the incentive for the corporations to work hard when they are receiving hand outs left and right from socialist policies under our current democratic president?
WeeStrom CO Guy wait you think Trump is republican? He just forgave 25,000 student loans, bailed out farmers and endorsed red flag laws lol. Sounds like something a Democrat would do since he used to be one 😉
WeeStrom CO Guy I like how you only picked one out of the three, that means the other two I know are right 😉
I paid $17AUD for my meds and that was expensive. At discount chemists I could get it down to $5AUD. That same medication costs $250USD. That's insane. No wonder people struggle so much with mental health.
how much is fuel , European sports cars in Australia a lot more than Usa
@@coopsnz1 You can't compare medicine (which is a necessity) to fuel...
@@coopsnz1 i don't need a sports car, i need medicine
Ben Chesterman we can't buy insane guns either. Yay!
Samuel 22276 $2? Maybe at some far outback petrol station but on average it’d be about $1.40 I’d say.
The U.S has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and some of the worst healthcare outcomes in the developed world. Things have got to change.
nothing needs to change. it's designed that way
@@redcapitalist well redesign it ....
@Jonathan Fairbank You could've stopped at "no rational" and accurately described the U.S healthcare system.
Soyboy visit the third worlds u will know 😂😂😂😂
Jacob You are kidding, or trolling, right? You cannot really believe such madness.
as a 70yo old age pensioner out here in australia, i love our medicare for all system. i recently had a heart attack home here in cairns, was taken by ambulance to the local cairns hospital and was then flown by the royal flying doctor service, free of charge to townsville. i spent 2 weeks in hospital down there, a week pre op and a week post op. i had my aortic valve replaced and a double bypass. the whole affair cost me nothing. also i would point out that any monthly medications i need, currently plenty are charged at just $5.50 per month each.
so i have absolutely no complaints at all about our health system and am amazed that america continually holds out for private health insurance.
Good luck Anthony, I have had similar experiences, when you really need it, it is very very good. Worth every tax dollars I have paid.
Hey FNQ I grew up there n went Cairns High 😂
@@HoofHearted2DAY ah great to hear from you. i'm still kicking along, 72 coming up in august.
It's not the American people who hold out for private health insurance: it's the politicians, who are almost all bought by either health insurance or drug corporations, or both. America is 100% corrupt.
In the states, elderly 65+ all are covered by medicare(medicaid is the service for needy families). They all would receive the same treatment you explained.
There are exceptions to getting covered, and being younger than 65, things like being on disability, having a specific illness, etc.
So I had my daughter here in Australia- I paid nothing.
My brother in the USA paid 20k.
I’d MUCH rather pay higher taxes and never have to worry about medical and high pharmaceutical cost.
I’ve never gotten the supplemental insurance as I don’t agree with weakening the system.
There isn't much of a difference in the taxes between Australia and America though right ?
@@ITyapkin that's not adding on State taxes though right ?
@@mra6308 The States and Local Goverments have No Direct or Indirect Taxation hear in OZ, though there are some Duties, Fees and Charges levied for some Government Services, though you can go years, decades or even a lifetime without having to pay them.
@@ITyapkin so $12,210 per year. How much does basic health insurance cost per year in the U.S.?
Just looked up tax rate. www.ato.gov.au/Rates/Individual-income-tax-rates/
To summarize $37,001 - 90,000 you pay $3,572 and 32.5% for $ after 37,000. So let's say you make $50,000 that would be $7,797 or a about 16%. Add in GST (10% on most goods and services) you looking at total tax rate of say 25%
Not having to sell your house in case you break a leg or two is definitely something I like a lot in Europe 😀
Rea Kariz my mom was diagnosed with cancer and we didn’t know how to pay for her treatment...so we were seriously thinking of putting our house for sale and moving to Mexico after she got better because we would not be able to afford to rent anywhere else.
@@klomba45 go to India
uniqurnarm45 that’s sad. Hope she’s feeling better!
Nobody has to sell their house for a medical bill in America either!That's a stupid comment!Furthermore,If you can't afford healthcare,you can't afford a house!
When did Australia moved to Europe?
Conservatives in the USA .. *think we Australians are SOCIALIST* .. national health care was first introduced in 1975... Conservative governments in Australia have tried on numerous occasions.. to go down the USA path. *Luckily we are also better educated*
America has way bigger middle class per capita , high taxes hurts middle class numbers in Australia and Europe to own a home at 40
Video should be titled: How Medicare for all works in a nation with less people than the US state of California but with the land mass and wealth of the entire nation of the US.
@@coopsnz1 LAME
@@luism5514 VERY LAME
@@coopsnz1 Yes but the society in these places are more balanced and less inequality takes occurs.
American system , worse outcomes for twice the money .Australian system by no means perfect , better results for half the funds .So transferring to a public , private type arrangement as in Australia would obviously be a better way to go in the states . If not why not and what am i missing .
@MrBleach401 Totally agree with Sanders , all or nothing , keeps the whole concept fairer and pure .
What's not mentioned is that the doctors are imported from overseas and are useless.
You get great care in america.
@@yugiohpokemon5285 People live longer in places with socialized healthcare like Great Britain. The big difference is that the US just pays a lot more for inferior care.
@@Matt-fl8uy their only ahead by like 3 years and has little to do with healthcare as the reason. 99 percemt of old people have some sort of medicaid or medicare.
They should've asked, how many people in Australia declare bankruptcy due to medical bills. I'm guessing the number is somewhere close to zero. I'm Canadian. I've never had to pay for any primary medical care, and this includes two surgeries. I have to pay for medication, but that's where my private insurance - through work - comes in. They pay the majority of it. If your doctor thinks you might have cancer, they're not going to make you wait - they're going to send you for tests. Plus, we do preventative screenings. Two of my uncles died of cancer - smoking related, but still, my mother's doctor insists she go for cancer screening every... I think 2 years, even though their cancer were most likely due to their smoking and my mother doesn't smoke. The main thing they should ask the candidates about universal health care is... Spain was the last 'first world' country to get Universal Healthcare, back in 1986. All the others got their coverage before then. So that's at the very least thirty three years. If universal healthcare is so bad, why has NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THESE COUNTRIES IN THE LAST 33 YEARS AT LEAST, GONE BACK TO A PRIMARILY PRIVATE SYSTEM? NOT. ONE. Are our system's perfect? No. But they're a sh*t-ton better than whatever is happening in the US. Stop letting those insurance companies manipulate you!
MavenCree this comment makes too much sense for many of my fellow Americans.
MavenCree “But taxes are wage theft and it’s not free as the taxpayers are paying for it!” This is what the neoliberals in the US have convinced the lower classes to believe.
Ewan Andris mainly the Republicans (who are conservative) but yes.
You pay for it through our crazy high taxes. It ain't free.
There is another really good part of the Australian Health System (Medicare) called the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). In its most basic form, the PBS provides subsidised medicines to everyone who needs them, simply getting a prescription for the medicine from either a doctor or in some cases a specialist allows you to purchase the medicine, so there is no additional barrier to entry. The list is reviewed every month and new medicines are added all the time. We literally have some life-changing/saving medicines that would cost people tens of thousands of dollars a year in the US, that are available in Australia for a few dollars a month.
This video didn’t mentioned the PBS scheme, which covers those costy cancer drugs all at 39.40 dollars, if you under pension, those will just cost you 6.8 dollars. We pay Medicare levy abt 2% of our income, near 20% tax income contribute to the medical system here. We cannot say oz system is perfect, but its relatively efficient and fair.
One of my step daughters takes medication to stay alive. She has a serious heart problem. I got this months box this afternoon from the Pharmacy. Cost of the box of tablets $4,100. How much did I pay..........$9.00 Australian., which is about $5.00 US. That's NINE DOLLARS for a FOUR THOUSAND DOLLAR box of tablets. If Americans call that socialism, they are more ignorant than even I thought.
Australian here, we had our son in the public system. Was there for 5 days, they wanted to run some tests etc. After all good and done we just walked out ... No paperwork, no bill, didn't need to do talk to anyone or do anything. Was surreal and awesome. Being free in public removes so much red tape.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
WHATS RED TAPE?
Another Aussie here. Four years ago, my elderly mother fell and broke her hips. Free ambulance trip to the ER. Checked out by the doctors. Yup, her hip was broken. Scheduled for surgery 24 hours later. Free. Spent a week in recovery than a further six weeks in rehab. Free. I hate to think how much all this would cost in America. We are so fortunate here in Australia.
I had a stroke, was taken to Goulburn hospital, didn't have an MRI. Was taken to Canberra hospital but had no beds. Redirected to Calvary hospital where the noravirus had broken out. I also got infected. Rehab wasn't available. They overdosed me on medication. Orderlies didn't speak English. They left people who couldn't communicate after a stroke in soiled nappies all day despite the stink. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi.
@@knowitall1694 It’s a pity those conservatives love to cut healthcare budgets so much ain’t it?
The could be said by the Brits. They love their NHS.
As an Australian, this video missed a lot of stuff. If also like to see how many Australians would like to switch to the American system - 0%, how many Americans would like the Australian system - most would know how it work, but once they did, I’d say 100%.
They just need to heavily regulate the insurance companies and I bet you the outcomes would be far superior to the rest of the world. I'm from a country where we don't have public health care just private insurance companies that are heavily regulated and health care cost to an individual is insanely low and outcomes are great.
As an Aussie no way would I want to US system.
More 95% I would guess. Always a few "self made" wealthy knobs who hate collective spending no matter what.
60% of people in the US are happy with their private healthcare, but go ahead and spread the far left rhetoric. Yes Medicare for all is far left in US, since Medicare for 65 and over is the LARGEST single payer, deemed to run out of money by 2035, so I will keep my private insurance, thanks. Don't need the government to mess this up as well.
@@enigma194 Good for you but what about those without a job?
One night in a us emergency hospital is 10k dollars.
One night In Australia. O dollars
Dennis F I know, right! 😎🤣
Medicare Levy?
@@chrismitchell4010 when people speak of this issue it is the out of pocket costs that we are focusing on when an incident occurs; we cannot time this. Yes a publicly funded system is paid for by tax payers obviously. Americans pay on average twice as much as Australians yet receive about half the care. This is determined by various sources.
@@dennisf1020
The issue im referring to is obvious misrepresentation of our health system like the above "zero dollars".
The levy is also very much "out of pocket" as you put it.
That’s false too. Because even in an emergency situation the wait time’s can be significant in Australia
Most “government funded” health care is “tax-payer funded healthcare”, as it should be!
Na government handles money inefficiency
No. I'm not paying for obese, smokers, and others who make poor healthcare choices.
Three flashes, it's sad how selfish people are. For you other three I'm just gonna sit here in my free health care in new Zealand
The German system is insurance based, not tax based. There are many insurances, you have to choose one (obligatory), at least AOK has to take you, no matter what diseases you have. Children are insured with at least one of their parents. Jobless people also have health insurance. You cannot really be uninsured. I like that very much, it really gives you ease of mind and prevents you from being one disease away from personal bankruptcy.
Mirza, by having UHC, and not discriminating, the cost goes down for everyone. The more people you have paying into the system, healthy or not, means that your money goes further.
As an Aussie, Id rather pay 30% tax than see someone be hit with a 100K bill any day (I just think that 100K bill could have been my bill growing up). To think otherwise would be selfish.
P.S. this video didnt really explain the medicare system very well. Just saying.
Well selfishness is a big part of American capitalism lol. It's like extreme individualism.
I think for most of us this video explained things well enough. Of course with life not being perfect there is going to be gaps. Then again what do I know, I’m just an average Joe.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
Finally Australia getting recognition for something that's not our accents, beaches, food or culture
.....mate,Kangaroo,wildfire but Healthcare
Please cover the German system!
Yes please do!
@T_ C Iv got two parents as doctors so let me just say: no :D
Verräter - der kafkaeske why?
@@Stoneface_ Because my father works about 70 hours a week on average (just one example).
Verräter - der kafkaeske German here as well. And other doctors rather work 40 hours.
Co-pay is everywhere in Australia which is a bummer. BUT all surgeries that arent cosmetic are completely free. You just have to wait a bit if it's not immediately necessary. But private care you can get in immediately. Also my family has ehler-danlos aswell. The system is really good but the liberal government. Keeps privatizing new hospitals for short term cash. Which is starting to ruin the system.
Ironic, liberals in the U.S. want government healthcare... Liberals in Australia want private hospitals.
@@tirkentube the Australian Liberals are our conservative party. Along with the nationals (the regional conservatives)
Liberals, in the classical sense
@@RumSoviet Only in Canada and the US the term ''liberal'' is used that way. For the rest of the world there isn't such thing as ''classical liberals'' there are liberals, period.
@@tirkentube There are two main parties in Australia the 'Liberal' party which is like the American Republican party, and the 'Labor' party, which is like the American Republican party. There is no major small l liberal party.
@@tirkentube american libs don't want 100% nationalized and public healthcare. they're more than happy to allow private options to exist, same as in AUS and the UK.
“Both the American and Australian systems have their problems” almost NO ONE in Australia thinks we have a problem. And if better research was done you would understand why.
To some extent I agree that both countries have some problems, but Medicare problems almost to being at times a bit inconvenient, or having a long wait time for an elective surgery. Medicare isn't perfect, but it sure as he'll hasn't bankrupted anyone for a stubbed toe. No one in Aus has to chose between their own health and food on the table for their children. To say both systems have problems while implying they have equal problems is nothing short of a bald faced lie. Yes, Medicare isn't perfect, but in comparison to American healthcare it sure looks that way!
Medicare for all works for people who are older with health issues or have chronic health issues, notice every single comment praising shows someone who was a substantial consumer. How is this a fair review???
I praise Medicare. I think it's great and I am so grateful to have it available, however I have used it for a couple of minor doctors visits, and one case of appendicitis when I was 13. I've never been grateful for it in a financial sense. It hasn't saved me from destitution, I've got no chronic need to rely on it but simply knowing it is there gives me peace of mind. If I get in a terrible car accident tomorrow, or get diagnosed with a chronic disease, or simply slip in the kitchen and cut my finger badly, my only worry will be getting better. I don't have to worry about hundreds of thousands of dollars and everything that comes with that. I know I pay in more than I hopefully will ever need to use but I'm extremely grateful that I have the option should I need it.
It's like car insurance. Mostly I pay money into a never ending hole, but I'm still much happier driving knowing that financial ruin isn't one of the potential consequences of a bit of oil on the road.
@@enigma194 I'm 32 and have no serious health issues. I've had a few injuries playing sport and used some mental health treatment, but that's about it. It's nice to know that our system is so good if something happens to me. Otherwise I'm perfectly happy paying taxes to know that every citizen in this country has access to good healthcare. Not everyone is as fortunate as me and I consider healthcare a human right. Today I'm the one contributing but who knows what might happen down the track. We should pride ourselves on the fact we take care of those less fortunate.
American who is now also Australian citizen living in Sydney; I won’t even consider moving back to America because of the healthcare system. I cannot fathom going back to having my health insurance tied to my job.
Welcome Paige! But Sydney? :p
Its interesting how medicare came about. We are lucky to have it. I am thankful.
I'm Australian, in the last 20 years my mum's been in the ICU 6+ times some visits lasted weeks, then they was the times on wards (dozens of them), the emergency visits, the ambulence rides, the months at a time spent in rehabilitation doing physio and the multiple spinal surgeries over the years. There was also the months she spent in hospital on bed rest when pregnant with first me than my brother, the 2 weeks I spent in the NICU and the 3 months my brother was also in the NICU. The most she ever paid altogether $40-50 for presriptions on discharge.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
I live in Australia. I have severe anxiety, that was treated with medication from my doctor. I also had an aneurysm, requiring nuro surgery to have it removed, and then was involved in a head on collision resulting in 3 broken ribs, a fractured back and my right shoulder was broken in 6 places requiring a shoulder reconstruction. I have no health insurance and the cost of all this treatment.... $28. That's for the medication I received for the pain killers for my nuro surgery and car accident, and the anti depressants for my anxiety. This would cost the government heaps... but I'm back at work because they fixed me and I'm paying taxes again. I was told that I shouldn't be responsible for others medical issues. But knowing that they covered me when I needed it, I have no issues with returning the favour. Keep this discussion going guys.
Aussie here.
Paid my first Medicare levy at 18. Didn’t even have a Medicare card until I was 25.
Did it bother me? Nope. Because I know my fellow Aussies need it, and one day I would too. Medicare isn’t for the individual, it’s for the whole.
Private insurance on the other hand, please give me strength, the greatest con-job of all time. You pay, you pay, you use.... you pay again.
Everyone I know who has private health insurance and needed medical care end up with endless medical bills.
Yes!!! That's what I always say. I'm happy to pay the 1-2 % tax on my income knowing that if it doesn't help me, it helps someone else.
@James East How about you, mate, before spreading your uneducated bollocks.
It was fascinating as an Aussie living in the USA for a year while my Australian wife worked as a surgeon at a major US hospital. Her assessment? The American healthcare system is screwed (yeah tell us something we don't know). Even the exact same medical supplies as we use in Australia were often way more expensive in the USA for some unknown reason. Then there was the arbitrary denial of care, such as the guy with the seriously infected ankle joint who was sent home from emergency surgery with a cement block replacing the ankle joint because someone decided at the last minute they wouldn't pay for it. And also there were numerous stories of patients having to take out loans and second mortgages to pay for their treatment, or just going home untreated after deciding they couldn't afford it (which is something she had never experienced before in her medical career). At the start of her term there several of her naive junior surgeon colleagues kept repeatedly telling her "we have the best healthcare in there world!" By the end of her term there, she had them all saying "we have the best healthcare in the world! Except for Australia and other countries!"
The British public system you can choose where your seen, who you see and at a time of your choosing, you also have to be referred, tested, treated and discharged by law within 18 weeks of the day you see your local family doctor. Excluding cancer or other emergency treatment where you must be treated and discharged within 2 weeks. This is part of the health services constitution and is non negotiable. All this costs the tax payer a fraction of what it costs the US taxpayer who then also have the added burden of having to pay a fortune for personal health insurance, all to receive a far lesser service, one that ranks 37 in the world by the World Health Organisation, lower than some third world countries. It’s time to wake up and sort the US system out, it’s a disgrace
I don't think here in the US we would ever get anything close to your NHS due to the strong opposition to the idea of socialized medical. Realistically a hybrid system would probably be our best chance.
No you dont
@@jgroenveld1268 you cant pick your time and place on government run insurance. They divide you upon how severe you injury is
@Yugioh Pokemon, I’m a commissioner for the national health service, it’s against the nhs constitution for a general practitioner to deny you your choice of time and place, if you have been referred within the last 10 years you would know this, as you choose your appointment online or over the telephone via the e-referral service. Previously called choose and book. The give away is in the title. If you mistakenly are referring to the way each regional health authority is paid per capita, what you are ignoring is that if a patent chooses to have their treatment out of their area their local health authority I.e me, bills the authority the patient has opted to be treated within. The nhs constitution is a public document if you want to educate yourself
@Yugioh Pokemon, yes we can, my doctor referred me for a hip replacement, my local hospital had a waiting list of 12 weeks so I asked to have it done at a hospital in London as their waiting time was only 5 weeks, I was seen by a consultant, had my hip replacement in London and discharged 7 weeks after my doctor first referred me to a consultant. I choose my hospital, and even the day and time the surgery took place. I was amazed, and I paid nothing!
All thanks to the Australian Labor Party!
yeah its funny how they forget that and vote in the other mob that always try to dismantle it
@Bryce Thibodeaux in your dreams bryce - the conservatives have the drug problem with all that cocaine on the north shore
@Bryce Thibodeaux You mean like the liberals are doing right now with their $550 a week jobseeker program?
NO, the Australian government - both left and right.
@@backseatgaming9087 I'm a Labor supporter and i think the jobseeker program is not bad...
but i'm pretty sure its because jobseeker bonuses and also all the bonuses on other programs were all thanks to the Labor party fighting for it and even doing all the work after the liberals didn't want to do that at all at first
What really triggers me is when people bring up the argument that with a public healthcare system, you're going to be paying for other people's healthcare. Healthcare spending per-capita in Australia is much lower than in the US. Our system is far more efficient than the American system. US insurance companies attempt to make as much profit as they possibly can. This profit amounts to a significant proportion of healthcare expenditure. In addition, there is little to no regulation regarding life saving medications such as EpiPen in the US. I personally need an EpiPen as i suffer from anaphylaxis. This medication is life saving in an emergency, so i have no other option than to buy it. In Australia, you can get this medication for a variety of prices. If you get a private prescription, the price is AU$70. If you get it through the PBS, it will either cost AU$40, AU$5 or AU$0, depending on your income. In the US, this exact same medication can only be bought in a two pack and the two pack can cost anywhere from US$650-700. This is absolutely absurd. Insurance and pharmaceutical companies in the US make huge profits off the back of an inefficient system that spends significantly more per-capita on healthcare than any other OECD country while having far worse health outcomes than many of these countries.
The whole "paying for someone else's healthcare" does my head in........what do they think they pay for with their private insurance premiums?? Unless they get very and expensively sick what they are paying for is other peoples healthcare (everyone else who is very and expensively sick and belongs to the same fund) and the shareholders next holidays..........NOT the brightest people on the block.
@@heatherrowles2580 I completely agree with you.
Exactly. We live in a community. So it’s much more sensible to spread the cost out among everybody and not load it on one person. That’s the whole point of taxation. We all pay for the army, we all pay for roads, we all pay for the health system. Because the alternative is, you get access if you have money, if you don’t have money you don’t have access. If that’s the case, you’re not living in a nation you are living in a every man for himself hunger games situation and have no business calling yourself a country
Another Aussie here who lived for years in the USA. I've also worked as a health professional in both public and private sectors in Australia. A couple of things not covered in this video-
1. The cost of a G.P visit in Australia is under $100 AUD (about $70USD) of which you will get a significant portion back from Medicare. In the USA I was once billed $750 USD for a 15 minute consult with a Dr for my 8yr old son who had conjunctivitis (I just needed a prescription written). I refused to pay the $750 and bargained the price down with the urgent care provider to under $200USD. The cost of health insurance monthly in the USA is what we paid for an entire year private health insurance in Australia for a family.
2. Any urgent, life threatening scenario in Australia will be free and you will be taken by ambulance (free) to the nearest hospital and treated- for free.
3. Cancer diagnosis and treatment is free in Australia if you go through the public system. My mother had bowel cancer which was detected in a routine healthcheck. She was checked yearly for signs of bowel cancer due to family history. It was detected, she had surgery to remove it. 2 weeks stay in hospital and follow up chemotherapy as an outpatient for 6 months. No charge at all. No delay in being seen either.
4. I had a melanoma last year. The skin clinic was free to all.. When the Dr there said he had concerns about a mole, I opted to use my private health coverage and went fully private to have a biopsy and then further day surgery to remove the melanoma. I did not have any further payments or out of pocket expenses.
5. When I worked in public hospitals, we were never told to reduce costs, not order consumables etc for patients. I had patients and I would order expensive items for them because they were the best and would give the patient the best result. I never had to provide a lesser service because the Government was picking up the tab. When I was working in private hospitals, the standard of care was lower. We were constantly told to watch the bottom line, patients did not get the best care because we were not 'funded' to provide therapy as well as treatment. I was not able to provide patients with consumables they required because we just didn't have the items and it was not within budget. Private hospitals can get you seen and treated more quickly and there is sometimes a wait in public hospitals for non urgent cases but if you need the care- you will get it in public hospitals in Australia and you won't pay anything other than your tax.
I am so thankful for our healthcare system in Australia. We could probably improve some things but on the whole, we are doing pretty good. The healthcare system is so bad in the USA but there is a really strong unwillingness by many Americans to fix it or even to help out their fellow American. A cancer diagnosis is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the USA, that is soo wrong. The US healthcare system is also a reason why the US has been so badly affected by Covid 19 and why so many people have died there. I hope they overhaul their healthcare system and allow more Americans to get treated and live long and healthy lives.
so true about standard of care lower at private, where even seeing it in aged care atm
In before some Americans defending their terrible system.
Lol cause the US pays for everything and yes I am an American
@E B We are plastered with the issue in various forms of entertainment. Sick of hearing about something so stupid.
Just like how we are sick of hearing about your school shootings. Horrible.
What should be (and in so many other countries, is) a non-issue, seems so incredibly difficult for you lot.
Instead of insurance companies, employer health plans, co payments and the govt still kicking in more per person than any other country, do what the rest of us have done - pay more in tax, take more money home from your pay cheque, get treatment when you need it without worrying about bills/bankruptcy
both my parents would be dead if it wasn't for the NHS. The bills alone after their treatments would have made us bankrupt multiple times if we lived in the US.
Kysen10 - burn it to the ground and start over. It's a terrible system.
Thank God I am British...Thank God for the NHS
Shola Sholade How does the NHS works?
Balla Jallow it’s funded through taxing our salaries (and of course the amount you get taxed depends on how much your earn.) So it kinda feels free for every citizen even though it’s not. But still a lot cheaper than the US.
Have fun in the rain drinking tea and eating crumpets all day
Thank God..I'm Austrian.. same same.. healthcare system..
Lady I lived in the UK it's not perfect either nothing's perfect when it comes to Health Care
Waiting times in Australia only started to increase dramatically after the private insurance rebate scheme was introduced. Conservative governments over the years have defunded and closed down hospitals (especially in rural areas) to place pressure on the public system and promote private health insurance.
Lol no
Middle class have voted Government shrinks
No mention of the PBS, or the Medicare levy, or public hospitals?
It's not perfect, but it seems to work better than the US system.
Straya!
No gun massacres
Health Care system for all
And, decent coffee
The world's best coffee
I mean the same could be said for many European countries too lol
@@Smitology sure but we have Kangaroos
@@bouncer01710 Good point
I feel such empathy for our U.S. cousins. I couldn't imagine being refused medical coverage due to insurance.
The Medicare system here has helped me with chronic illness and rehabilitation. Cannot fault it.
Australian Here
2017 after a few bouts of pneumonia my mother had scans and ultimately a biopsy what was a carcinoid tumor in her lung.
Within a month she was operated on to remove 2/3 of her lung in a larger regional area, travel was covered as was a portion of additional accommodation costs for her. She received 4 rounds of chemotherapy at the beginning of 2018.
All of the above was without any cost to her or the family (apart from travel/accom for her surgery).
After her final round of chemo mum actually got an infection and went septic. She went to the hospital in an ambulance, spent about 10 days in ICU and was bedridden in isolation for approximately 10 weeks. She was in the hospital for just under 6 months.
Again the full hospital stay with all the specialists and tests and scans and everything that happened was at zero cost to her and the family.
Where our medicare system falls down is mum's rehabilitation ... she can't qualify for any disability as she is "getting better" and can't be diagnosed. Yet we can't continue to pay for the intense physical therapy she needs. She will most likely not be able to walk without a walker which has resulted in needing a "carer" to at best be her driver.
Still, if the only issue we have from the past 2 years of my mother's rollercoaster concerning her health is a lack of physiotherapy I still say we are coming out winning.
< Non-Life-Threatening Medical Example>
Again 2017 (yes this was a great year for me) my husband received neurosurgery. He had a vertebre from his cervical removed and a cage inserted in its place. Again like my mother above, transportation and contribution towards accommodation were provided by Qld Health.
The surgery, his stay in a private hospital and his neurosurgeon were all covered at no cost.
HOWEVER, my husband had been suffering from chronic pain for over 3 years leading up to this surgery. We live in a regional area that has no neurosurgeons so the "waiting list" never went anywhere. Had we lived in a capital city we most likely would have had an earlier resolution. Even if we had private health cover with no neurosurgeons in our city it is unlikely we would have been able to see one on our own anyway. As it was my husband was seen due to a "long waiting list" program utilising private specialists. If not for this program it is likely that he would still be suffering today. But the program existed and within a month of seeing the specialist, he had his surgery and has been pain-free since.
Would also like to highlight a couple of errors in the above story:
Dental and optical are covered for low-income Australians under Medicare. In fact, all Australians get free eye exams every 2 years unless flagged for more consistent testing).
Dental is also free for all children.
Some states have an ambulance scheme which makes all ambulance transport free.
You don't need to have private health as non-life-threatening issues will and can be treated under Medicare it will just take a while.
As an Australian, I have private insurance but majority of the time I use Medicare. I have the same general practitioner I have had for 25 years, I am bulk billed, meaning no out of pocket expenses, can usually get an appointment within a day, two at the most and if I need to see a specialist, the wait is not long. I have had to use the emergency department many times and am nothing but in awe of what we get regarding treatment. All this for 2% of our taxable income, an absolute bargain.
Not a criticism but the point of private health is it's meant to decrease reliance on Medicare (hense the incentive) but the Medicare system is so much easier and better (single form, one number, simple) that many people just don't go through private. Particularly as sometimes it'll actually involve charges (even in public hospitals) although some publicly funded places now cover the gap as they get more for it.
@@Chrazzari exactly. I have private health in Australia (employer actually pays for it, lucky me) solely for the tax benefit. Never have and never plan to use it as the public system is more than adequate for my needs.
I truely feel sorry for Americans you are living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world but you can't afford to go to the doctor.
This IS 3rd world.
Also this really didn't touch on a lot of the finer points of Australia's health care system which is FAR superior to the American one.
Also a little known fact: Australia is actually one of the few (perhaps the only) countries to abolish a universal health care scheme. Australia's first universal health care scheme, Medibank (which didn't last very long), was effectively abolished in 1981 and uninsured people then faced potentially large bills if they were admitted to hospital. At the next federal election however, there was a change of government (which didn't have a lot to do with the aforementioned abolition of Medibank) and that government then reinstated universal health care as Medicare in 1984.
Is that why Medibank private is a thing, never new knew that, just remember seeing their ads as a child and wondering why anyone would pay for medical care when it was free
@@Park501 Yes. When Malcolm Fraser came in as PM he set it up so the government could say they weren't abolishing Medibank completely (this was before the original public Medibank scheme was abolished in 1981), and to provide competition to existing funds.
Ha ha ha - Americans look at health care through such a biased perspective they just do not get it. Lol
Imagine giving the Australian system to a country that has a population size that's over 10x bigger than it.. with way more illegal immigrants. Sure that will work. Lol.
Imagine giving the Australian system to a country that has a population size that's over 10x bigger than it.. with way more illegal immigrants. Sure that will work. 🤦🏽♂️lol
@@Blessindisguise actually if u do research it shows australia spends less money on a sing person for healthcare than american spends on a single person
@@Blessindisguise yeah economies of scale and the fact that the US produces heaps of pharmaceuticals onshore, you're right it could be heaps cheaper, more efficient and better run than Australia's system.
@@Ye-nt4fv wasn't talking about money. I was talking about medical office space and capacities. As you can see during this pandemic there isn't enough capacity. Now add that too it the system would have completely broken.
I have a friend who has worked in private and public hospitals in Aus. Funny thing is she says patients she's tended to often have better or at least no worse experiences in the public hospitals. She says the big problem with the private system is the hospital doesn't prioritise getting the patient tended to quickly and sent home if it's not a life-threatening emergency. They bill the insurance company per day so if they get one patient home and replace with another, they get paid the same so they don't care to increase throughput as long as there's a warm body in every bed. The doctors in the private system lose money if they have too few patients (they have to pay the same to have rooms at the private hospital whether they have 100 patients or 0) so they try to book more patients than they can conveniently see. This leaves the less urgent patients waiting days before their doctor bothers to come see them while in the public system they might have been seen to and discharged on the same day.
There is a sharp decline in people keeping private health policies in Australia as more and more people are just finding it's not worth it. I'd happily pay more in taxes to get better results than an insurance company to fund really wasteful practices.
Australian, not paid a medical bill in forty years.
Martin T We all collectively paid, and most people are completely fine with that
Not all Australian’s pay taxes, but still get access to free healthcare, so somebody else is paying for them.
Martin T, Aussie here. I can assure you most people in Australia are completely fine with our Medicare system. Even the poorest people are able to get free or subsidised medical assistance when needed. Get out of your own little “I worked for this money so therefore only I should be able to get it” bubble and start realising that we are all human and should all have the same opportunities and help as everyone else no matter your situation
@@martint6680
He would have paid for it when he paid his taxes.
So he pretty much paid for it anyway.
Medicare is 9% of our GDP. Think about it....
At 65 years old in Australia and without any medical insurance I needed dual full knee replacement surgery.
I had to wait just 4 months from going onto the waiting list until my surgery became available.
I had the full surgery with all hospital services and post-op rehab for absolutely zero cost.
If I'd had private health insurance the only difference would have been surgery within 2 to 4 weeks and my choice of doctor - the hospital would have been the same since surgery was done at a major hospital anyway but I'd have been been able to choose a private room for post-op recovery.
The Australian system rocks! 👍
Michael Hancock IMO I don’t like the 2 tiered system. I don’t want a persons income/insurance to determine their treatment times.
Like how a person's income determines the quality of house they live in? Mansions for all!! But the most important thing is that the surgery was free for someone without medical insurance. If there was just 1 tier, it would only favour the extremely wealthy.
@@johnmoore1495 Unfortunately if people couldn't skip the queue for non-urgent care then that would be a legitimate critique of the system. People in the US are fearful that long waits are a feature of a 'for all' healthcare system, when as shown, they need not be. Being slightly uncomfortable for a few months is better than being bankrupt.
Another Aussie here. I got diagnosed with a rare genetic disease, aHUS. I go into a public hospital for infusions every fortnight. The drug costs $20k each time, or $400k per year. It costs me nothing, but the public hospital asked if they could use my private health insurance so they get some $$ back. Of course!
And as a thank you, I get a parking and coffee voucher each time.
No, don't thank me, thanks to our amazing healthcare system.
Aren’t us Aussies so lucky. I’m from Northern Territory, I had a rare form of jaw cancer that required 14 hours or surgery, 1 week of ICU and 5 months of aftercare that cost me $0.
As an Aussie, I’m glad that if I have urgent health problems, I walk into a public hospital and wave my Medicare card to get great healthcare, not my credit card.
However, for elective procedures, I prefer to use the private healthcare system, due to shorter waiting times.
In America, so much is so cheap in comparison to Australia, I just don’t understand why healthcare has to be so expensive.
Why are you buying private health if public is so good?
@@Luminaria86Broadly and briefly, if you're on a good income (mid-high) you pay some additional tax if you don't subscribe to private healthcare. The cost to do so is usually marginal against the additional tax so most do it and it offers them faster care for surgeries that are not life threatening but inconvenient.
msjp81 ok I used to buy private health to save on tax just as you described, but realised that is a couple of thousand dollars going to a corporate entity that could have gone to Medicare instead. I’m not old enough to have health problems and figured my money should go to Medicare to help people who need it more. That’s more important than me saving a bit of tax.
The USA could have a system like Medicare if they did not waste resources on the Military!
They couldn't due to many factors but the big 3 are money, greed and power that the Democratic parties love to control. Unfortunately they are clueless on how the system is run and that it is Not Free like they keep on harping in the media and out of the government members mouths. It has problems too.
@@msspears8915 so true!
USA doesnt have federal sales tax my a top of the range diesel truck $100000usd= middle class in USA better off
According to Americans I need to pay 1500$ for seven stitches
In my country health care is also “ free “ and it works just fine
It's not "free".
We call it patriotism 🤣🤣
@Will Stewart Why should I be responsible for you're poor health and financial choices?
@Will Stewart spoken like a true socialist-progressive-liberal-Democrat. What a stupid statement
@@mirzaahmed6589 jesus, i said that
I'm Russian, we have universal health care. My dad had a hip joint replacement last year for free. My private insurance from my company covered my gall bladder removal. I paid for my eye surgery, but then received 13% back in tax returns. What I'm saying is that our system is not perfect, but clearly way more affordable than in the US.
Vera Dandiflor cool comrade
@@Stoneface_, #bornintheussr 🤗
What do Russians think about Putin?
Yeah I'm sure the quality is equal to US standards too.
Russian health care system is of African quality.
Our public hospitals are the same as the USA private hospitals. Hospitals in Australia is amazing
I've broken every bone known to man, lucky I did it all in Aus. The US needs to catch up with the rest of the western world.
You're welcome! The rest of us paid for it, nothing to brag mate
@@enigma194 He probably pays taxes too. I'm happy to pay taxes to know that everyone in this country has access to affordable healthcare, it's a basic human right.
I was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, I had a 6 & a half hour op & spent 3 days I C U , 14 days all up in hospital , I'm on a pension & didn't pay anything & got treated like I was the only patient, I got treated like a queen
I am so glad that beside medical help you got responsive care...my wife has been treated for cancer in the last year and also had a knee replacement...she had the best, kindest and most wonderful care...all for free..(except for hospital parking fees, lol)
As an Australian woman who has had breast cancer 3 times all my surgery, hospital stays, chemo, radio and plastic surgery is covered. Top class medical professionals and great care. Brilliant system.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
CNBC does an hatchet job on the Australian medical system which provides better service at a lower cost than the US system.
I think that an issue I see here in Australia is for people who live away from the larger cities. Rural doctors are much less likely to bulk bill and waiting then traveling long distances to see specialists if you live a long way away is a huge cost (not to mention that some people travel huge distances for elective surgeries which are delayed for long periods of time because of emergencies...though I guess that happens everywhere in the world). I think a lot of problems with our health care, schools, and transport come down to being a spread out fairly small population and those problems are much more difficult to solve.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
In Australia - Medicare only covers visits to the family doctor and specialists. No hospital cover. We have free public hospitals for that, and like everywhere else, the waiting times are ridiculous. Then we have a drug scheme that pays some of the drug costs and we keep drug prices low by negotiating hard with the drug companies as a "single payer" country. If we didn't have Americans paying top rice for drugs to cover research and development, we'd be paying a LOT more. If you want to choose your doctor/surgeon, go to a private hospital, get dental cover, optical cover, etc, you have to buy private health insurance at between $2000-6000 per year. That's our two-tiered system. It provides a basic safety net, but if you want good treatment you have to buy coverage. Also it's not a part of our culture for employers to buy it for you. It works, but no better than the US system - we have plenty of horror stories.
I have been living in Australia for last 15 years and lived in Japan before and Medicare in Japan is even better than Australia. Seeing specialist is so easy and it’s very reasonable priced. Medicare covers 70%. But having me said that, Australia’s medi care system is also good.
I feel sorry for people in USA. No Medicare and guns are legal and mass shooting happening every month.
I’m an Aussie. Even though it’s not perfect, I’m so thankful for our healthcare system!
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
As someone who’s lived in Australia as a non citizen their healthcare system is extremely efficient. While true sometimes waiting to see a doctor in a public out-of-hospital services can have a wait time like 3-6 months, if you have private health insurance it is still very affordable. Insurance covers literally everything. Infact if you utilize your insurance company’s panel doctors there is no gap fee. I went to my gp a million times without a care. When I went to a specialist referred by my gp I got discounts on the fee and my insurance covered the rest. When I was prescribed medicines on the PBS list they were 1000 times cheaper than the US and you could even claim those with your insurance.
The insurance was so affordable even to non citizens and there are many clinics and hospitals in each suburb. You always have access to health care.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
Care is excellent and quick in australia if it needs urgent attention through public hospital/health networks.
But if you have a chronic condition that is stable but you are suffering, you could wait many months (sometimes over a year) for specialist medical care through the public system. But this varies geographically, wealthier areas tend to be serviced better because politics.
This long wait time for often painful, but not dangerous ailments is a big driver in people accessing private system, either through paying out of pocket or private insurance. The wait times here are much shorter.
In my experience the public service is often demonised for its long wait times. It does leave people suffering for too long and I'd love to see that addressed. But for urgent and semi urgent care it's fantastic, I'm really proud of it - it's just under resourced, but it could scale up very well.
I get around the longer wait times for less urgent needs by seeing the doctor I want to see in their private rooms, and paying the medicare gap.......then having whatever treatment I need done by that same doctor in a public hospital......you will find the majority of "private" doctors work in both systems and have their own theatre slots allocated via a public hospital.
The bar chart at 1:03 is so misleading and i hate that kind of statistic trick. You should draw the chart from zero not 75!!!!
Jay Santos “infant mortality rate” is a rate, meaning it’s based off a set number of births. On the top of the graph it literally says “per 1,000 live births.” So for every 1000 babies, 2.5 less babies die in Australia vs the US.
Nhân Lê Khánh but they literally highlight and say the exact number of years that they live longer by.
@Jay Santos nope, look at it properly.
it says ''Infant deaths per 1,000 live births'' so it's per capita and not as a whole.
@Jay Santos There is absolutely is no correlation between birthrate and infant mortality rate.
John Moore true that they quoted the real number but the way they drew the chart make us (or myself) feel like the life expectancy of the Americans is less than 1 half of the Australians. Numbers are facts but presentation of those numbers may distort our perception to those facts. Right?
Healthcare in America is treated like a product or commodity.
The "winners" in that system are people who have either of these factors or a combination of them: they are wealthy, work in careers that pay well and their employer offers good employee health benefits, in a good state of health and somehow never have anything bad happen to them that would require them to have expensive medical treatment.
Exactly. U.S system only benefits the rich and middle-upper class. While the poor suffer. Did you know 27 million Americans in 2018 went without health coverage?
The reason why is costs way more in the US for health care is because they are in it for the money and not for the care of the ill.
Our Doctors and Nurses in Australia are far more ethical and you don't see many driving expensive cars.
From Australia: good review. I was injured a year ago in a car accident that wrote off my car. The TAC (Traffic Accident Commission) of the state of Victoria offers amazing support paying all my medical bills and recent surgery as well has hydro and physiotherapy. They’re even paying for my lawyer to sue them for the accident and pay my petrol or taxi to drive to medical or legal appointments. Amazing system as far as I am concerned. Part of the registration each with the car and is compulsory as it is in all states here!
The argument about wait times keeps being misused, at least here in Australia, its not just a straight increase in wait time, its a trade off, only the non-vital treatment takes longer, while in return you get VITAL, life saving treatment quicker, and its available to anyone and everyone immediately without any third party like an insurance company, i don't need to speak with medicare, only the hospital admin at the front desk when i show up, and all they do is search for me by name and date of birth.
Two years ago i had a gallstone in the middle of the night, i was in my boxer shorts, i had no wallet or ID, I got an ambulance in about 5 mins who filled me with morphine then took me to the hospital, didn't touch a single bit of paper, didn't have to pay anyone anything, when i was good to go in the morning i just got a prescription for pain killers and other preventative meds (2 for about $10 each, about 1$ a pill) and then i just walked out, when home, done and dusted.
Why America doesn't have this in the 21st century is beyond me, we've had it here since before i was born in the 80's, and its always been great.
My old man had private insurance for a while after a "car accident", broken leg, pins, skin grafts, months in hospital and repeated visits years after for future complications, the care was the same (because its great in both), the only thing they provided on-top of the care was nicer beds, fancier rooms and food, massage therapists, counseling etc, all nice things, but nothing really to do with the vital medical side of it, it was pretty much "Your normal free care + day spa addons"
"You give me an hour to drive to a doctor? That's absolutely inaccessible." Talk about high standards.
Meanwhile I drove 1.5hrs to take my bird to the vet... Australia
The challenge we have here is that many retirees move to the country/rural areas because their pension/nest eggs/etc.. will sustain an easy life there. Then age becomes an issue and medical/hospital care in a convenient distance becomes an issue...
Another point to mention is that the ambulance service in each state of Australia is publicly funded and as long as you are a Australian citizen who has a Medicare card (everyone), emergency ambulance transports are free. This is also true for air ambulance transports via helicopter and plane. Whilst the system does have problems for people with perhaps non life threatening problems such as wisdom teeth removal, if you are sick or dying you will be treated and you will not be charged. Private cover is purely to shorten wait times, get more choice of doctor, and to pay for non Medicare treatments .. again using wisdom teeth removal as it is something that happened to me.
Australian here. I dislocated my knee in a sporting injury at school that knocked off a large portion of my cartilage. Due to the nature of the 'cartilage floating around' I had to have surgery within a week of the injury. After an ambulance trip, a day in hospital, home for a week with free medication, overnight surgery, physiotherapy fortnightly, mobility equipment, more medication, and personal training to regain muscle. I have paid
Here in Australia we have a long surgery waiting list. I've been on the list for almost a year.
If that's the case then your surgery is likely not critical and you would still have had the option to have it done sooner privately if that's what you wanted.
@baby bean _ , given that healthcare has been a hot topic during the Democratic debates, it seems like different people are advocating for different things. For instance, Bernie Sanders has often advocated for a system resembling that in Scandinavian countries and the UK, both of which do incorporate private involvement. There is no single opinion of "the left", despite what Fox and Ben Shapiro might tell you, other than perhaps that Trump seriously sucks.
if you've been on it for a year then its obviously something non urgent like tonsil removal. you can quite easily pay for the surgery yourself if your not happy with the wait...
@baby bean _ that's the way to go baby
Waiting list is only for elective or non emergency.
Keep in mind in America the whole system is largely a business, which means their primary goal is to make money not treat people.
The people in charge I mean, not specifically the doctors and nurses that actually treat you but the people that employ them.
If it continues to be a business their will be price increases and mark ups just for the sake of profit. That’s the downside of healthcare as a business.
Health care should and can be a right to the people not a luxury.
Whats the downside of high taxes in Australia less teen home owners than Usa per capita
Australian here. We pay 2% of our income for Medicare (public health insurance). This is $150 per month for a $90k income. This covers everything from emergency treatment, to specialist surgery, diagnostics and chemotherapy.
Our Medicare levy (the 2% tax) also covers people who are disabled to provide special support to them. Things like home fit-outs, car conversions, support staff, etc. Basically so if your kid is born with a disability, you don’t go broke. The NDIS (public disability cover) will help you out with support staff, home equipment, etc, whilst you continue to do your normal day jobs and your kid gets the support he should get.
Also, Medicare doesn’t cover elective surgery (like plastic surgery), but you can buy private cover from a private insurer on top which does give you cover. Decent private health insurance cover is about $130 a month on top. Good cover covers you for everything from helicopter evacs to breast augmentation.
Having a good public system means that the private system is forced to be more price competitive, because a public system lacks that fundamental overhead of profit. If you look at it another way, profit is just another cost for the insurer, and the public insurer is not allowed to profit.
Here if you are privately insured, you can still be public if you choose.
There is also a very small amount of junk cover in our private health insurance market too. Some people on very cheap private health insurance for example (cover just for the reason of gaining a tax advantage) get basically nothing in return. But that is the private system. Add a cash incentive to any system and there will exist some type of gouging.
Maybe it’s not the best system in the entire world, but it does ok. As usual, the private insurers are the biggest problem here too. People can still go broke medically here if they have junk private health insurance and decide not to be treated as public patients, or some types of cancer which fall through the coverage gaps, but it only really happens on the private system when people refuse public treatment (opt private only). Not their fault at all also, it’s just private insurers know how to keep their profit margins as high as possible, and add as many gaps and exclusions as they legally can. Like I said, our problem here are the private insurers also.
We did have a publicly owned private health insurer, which worked brilliantly to keep all private health insurers charging a reasonable amount by setting the prices fairly, but we have one of those “privatise everything” governments, so they just sold it off and then prices for cover started increasing by about 8% per year.
Don’t get me wrong also, privatisation can be great, but privatising all aspects of the health insurance system is about the dumbest bloody thing anyone could ever think to do. No offence by the way, it’s definitely not the will of the people to have things go that way, just the want of those who hold power who are paid for by those in the private health insurance industry.
Sometimes also it’s hard to see how messed up something is when you’ve never known any different. So, to that I say: How would you like your firefighters to be private? So if your house was burning down, they stopped out the front and asked for payment first. No payment, no house. It’s messed up. The US health insurance system is messed up.
You deserve to be covered regardless of your financial status, race, religion, other. You deserve not to be bankrupted by having an accident. Otherwise, what is the point of having a government? It is their bloody job to take care of you. You own the government, and you pay taxes for this very reason. They are the caretakers of your great nation, and not your masters - you are theirs. If you speak, they will hear you. A vote if a very powerful tool, regardless of what politicians tell you. Any politician who says a single vote does not matter does not deserve yours - because it most certainly does matter.
We are all praying for you guys over there, and we pray that the needless loss of life due to a broken system ends. Godspeed, great nation.
High taxation is the reason for highest household debt in the world Australia, Norway , Denmark you aren't telling the whole truth when has a labor supporter ever have
In Australia the private system is superfluous, that everything that happens in the private system already happens and then more so in the public system.
Here in New Zealand, we have both a free public universal healthcare system, whilst also having a private health insurance option (mainly to skip wait lists and cover things that the public healthcare won't cover). That said, I'm also planning to buy private insurance as well once I start earning more.
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and love all over the world, I would love 💚us to be good friends in honesty and in trust if you don't mind. I'm Doctor Christopher Johnson from San Francisco, California, where are you from if I may ask?❤
So glad to live in the land down under. You can thank the Labor government for our healthcare system. If it was up to the Liberals they would dismantle it.
That's just bs
@@Corey-pd3mi "Medicare is the publicly funded universal health care insurance scheme in Australia, that includes its external territories, operated by Services Australia (formerly the Department of Human Services). Medicare is the main source of funding of health care in Australia, either partially or fully covering the cost of most primary health care services for eligible citizens, residents and visitors. Residents are entitled to a rebate for treatment by medical practitioners, eligible midwives, nurse practitioners and allied health professionals who have been issued a Medicare provider number, and can also obtain free treatment in state public hospitals. The scheme was created in 1975 by the Whitlam Government under the brand Medibank, and was limited by the Fraser Government in 1976 to paying customers only. The Hawke Government reinstated universal health care in 1984 under the brand of Medicare. Medibank continued to exist as a government-owned private health insurance provider until it was privatised by the Abbott Government in 2014."
You can thank labor we pay way more for cars than Usa , they pushed up luxury car tax to 33% in 2008 , liberals raised the theshold to $67000aud. Wrx sti , 370z , s3 , challenger scat pac $10000 cheaper and it's always progrssive voters that whinge about business gouging them
In the 80s bob hawke intruduced 45% wholesale tax , capital gains tax = less self retired and middie class today
@@tonycoz2309 Thanks for that, always wondered what that Medicare Levy on my tax statement was for.
Aussie here. My father had a heart attack a few years back. Had to have an operation to put a Stent in. Was in hospital for a week after under observation. Didn't pay a single cent. I don't mind our taxes. While high, I can deal with it for what it provides. I and my family regularly go for check ups etc. Nothing out of pocket up front. The issue America will face is getting people to pay a much larger tax bill in one hit. In Australia its evolved over many years.
I have 2 daughters - both are diabetic (Type 1) and on insulin. 6 months of insulin costs us $6.30 each 6 month prescription ... that's for 30 Novapens per person. Needles are FREE. Their blood glucose meters were given to them by their diabetes educators and the sugar test strips cost $1.40 for a box of 100 (they are $47 per box if you are not registered with the National Diabetes service) . Ketone test strips are I think about $10 a box but are not on the service. A glucagon needle (rapid response for super low blood sugar) is also $6.30.
When my eldest daughter slipped and broke her foot (a lis-fracture) a few years ago, we went to the ER and saw the doctors there. They did an X Ray, stuck a cast on her and we had to come back 4 days later after some of the swelling went down and the bruising came out so they could determine if she would need screws. We saw an orthopedic surgeon and she had 2 CAT scans, probably a dozen Xrays, 2 hospital overnight stays (one to put in screws and one to take them out) and about 6 casts over 5 months - total cost to me $140 - which was for the anaesthetist.
A few years later, she had a baby that required a week in the neonatal ICU. She got 4 days in a single person ward bed, then was able to sleep in the same room as her son while he was treated. (His heart stopped twice after birth and he had jaundice). Total cost $0.00 ... yup ZERO. While she was sleeping in the room with her son, she was provided tea and coffee, but she had to get her own meals from the canteen downstairs. During the birth she had a gas, morphine and an epidural - all no charge.
When I had my kids, I had private health care mainly because I wanted to choose my gyno for the delivery and I was having them in a private hospital. I am now on a pension so I get a health concession card which gives me free health care, PBS medicine at $6.30 per prescription, dental ($25 per visit including extractions, fillings etc), free eye tests and cheaper glasses, free ambulance and free blood tests etc.
I worked for over 25 years and the amount they take out is tiny - it is 1% of your taxable income - so if you earn $40,000 per year after your deductions, you pay a whole $400 for it. Seriously - how can you complain?
One thing to remember as well is that even the gold plated super maximum private health coverage is massively cheaper than in the USA.
Almost everything can be had for free, it's a choice whether you go bulk billed or gap payment.
I live in Australia , if you damage a ligament in the knee, could wait a yr on public system . But if you have a broken leg or a heart condition you are treated straight away for free. In public hospitals.
Unlike the USA ,the best machines and best doctors for major ops, transplants, brain surgery are in the public hospitals ,and are all for free , no out of pocket expense . You are treated and operated ASAP. it is simple private cannot compete with public.
If you want a doctor of choice then you go through the private system.
Due to a few problems. I spent 30 months in an Australian hospital room (4 weeks in ICU) total cost to me was about 2 grand, which got picked up by private insurance
Rather than destroying private system, have public hospitals.
As an Australian - some of your reporting is incorrect.
1:01 Australia has better health care than America. Not comparable.
We don't have sick citizens being turned away from doctors or hospitals because they don't have health insurance - like America.
1:28 Medicare DOES cover dental. Wait times are long, usually a month from booking.
Unless emergency dental, that's instant.
2:09 The government rebate on people that have elected to have private health cover, is to incentivise people using private health cover and taking pressure off the public system.
5:30 Correct, choice of doctor and choice when your appointments are.
You can still select appointments under the public system, however, they're busy, so trying to get an appointment is more restricted as to when they can see you.
6:06 If it's a 'just in case', you get low priority.
If your GP believes that there is a risk, your referral does give you higher priority.
Dr Bates is not accurate by generalising.
6:16 as above, if you are in a risk category, your GP will refer you and you will get priority.
Finally, one huge omission - The PBS (pharmaceutical benefits scheme)
Treatments, medicines, medications etc are HEAVILY discounted for ALL Australians to the point whereby you may only pay 10% of the cost of the medication.
And free or further discounted if you are on welfare.
Lastly, any emergency procedure is free.
The ambulance service to take you to hospital is not free. However for $50 per year, it's free.
I live in Queensland and the Ambulance service is covered by the state.
Casey there’s a lot to complain about here in Australia, but we have it pretty good when it comes to health care. I feel pretty sorry for the Americans.
Wait we are suppose to pay for ambulance fees? I have never paid and i'm in my late 20's. But yes our health care system is not perfect but it is alot better than the american health care system.
Public Dental covers most children, but adults must be on Centrelink pension/welfare.
Waiting times more like a year, therefore not viable.
I've only known one adult person in my life who has used this system.
@@BWater-yq3jx not true if you need dental and arent on a centrelink payment you go to the doctors and get a dental voucher to cover tge cost of dental procedures
Australian health care EXPLAINED PROPERLY
Emergency care- free
Children's vaccinations- Free
Hospital stays- Free.
Operations- Free
Ambulance- free (or $50 per year in some states)
Childbirth- free
NICU and baby care- free
Inpatient specialists- free
ICU care - free
Permanant Dementia patient- free
In hospital medications- free
Home medications- Average 1/7th the price for the same in america.
Australian here: I really appreciate the emergency aspect of our healthcare. As someone whose family has had a number of issues that require IMMEDIATE attention (severe SVT, acute appendicitis, acute tumors), I really like how we can go to the ER, get whatever treatment we need and be on our way without paying anything. Last year, my appendix became swollen, so I had to be rushed to the ER to have it removed. One day in the ER, a surgery and an overnight stay later and I walked out having paid nothing. Same with the severe SVT episodes for my family - pay absolutely nothing
I am Australian and Had three babies via Cesarean. The first two were emergency Cesarean and so the doctor and I agreed to a planned cesarean. I paid $100 each for a specific ultrasound and the car parking fees. that's what it costs to have a baby in Australia.
Just to add my case, my appendix burst (in Australia). I spent a month in hospital, that was free. I have paid taxes for the 22 years since that happened. I currently work a job that I can manage alone for six months a year saving my employer about 30K a year because no one had ever done it before (I have done that for 4 years, being 120k in saving to an employer). So the Australian health system fixed me, put me back in the system and I have contributed at full effort ever since. There is no benefit in leaving people on benefits due to sub-standard health care to drain the system.
As much as I hate left wing ideology, Americas right needs to rethink healthcare. Here in Australia we are all happy we don't lose everything because we get sick
Universal healthcare in most countries has nothing to do with left/right politics
@@raynemichelle2996 it does in America.
I live in Australia, I waiting times to having done in Australia with Medicare are two weeks
Another Australian here. Six years ago my mum had emergency surgery for a bowel obstruction. After staying in hospital for six weeks (she also has Parkinson's and it took a while to recover) she was discharged and the bill was zero dollars.
It will never happen in this country because greed.
Literally had a surgery in Australia this morning. I paid $32 out of pocket. The rest was covered by my taxes. The US system is absolute insanity to me...
We do have long wait times for elective surgery. If it's vital you're seen to immediately.
Almost everything is bulk billed so you don't pay out of pocket at all. Most doctors are covered entirely by medicare and for those with a gap fee you know up front.
Broke my arm went to ER costed me total of 10 dollars for my lunch at subway, got prescribed some painkillers for free at chemist warehouse.
I love Chemists Warehouse, there's so many doodads, I could spend hours there 😄😄😄 Anyway, I'm glad you were well taken care of and hope your arm healed well.
I am a pensioner in Australia and my doctor bulk bills in his practice. He may drive a car which is a few years old not a brand new BMW, but he is respected and a bloody good doctor
At this point, every country's healthcare system beats the US'.
Nice insight into the Ozzie health system. I’m in Canada where yes, at least in Ontario, doctors could charge an additional fee as they can do now in Australia. Back in the 70”s and into the 1980’s my family doctor charged extra, if it was an office visit or a check up he would charge an additional $15 on top of what the government plan covered. Now remember that was also in 1970 something dollars, so not cheap but he was an excellent doctor so we didn’t gripe too much about it. Other G.P’s I knew or heard of accepted the governments payment without extra fees to the patient. Then the rules changed and they could no longer charge extra. I am 95% satisfied with the system here sure it can have a few faults but all in all pretty damn good. The positives far outweigh the negatives. The health care system is the one reason I’m thankful my father moved is back up here after some time living in the States when I was very young.